One of the areas is a compound of two three-story buildings near the Seven Arches Hotel (formerly known as the Intercontinental Hotel) on the Mt. of Olives, overlooking the Temple Mount. The other is in the City of David neighborhood, southeast and below the Temple Mount area.
The Elad Association, which is backing the new acquisitions, has almost single-handedly built the Jewish neighborhood of Ir David in the City of David (Silwan) area over the course of the past 20 years. The group has purchased homes and found housing for well over 40 Jewish families.
One of the two new properties, the newest Jewish property in Ir David, is a three-building compound, currently being guarded and prepared for Jewish entry. The property was acquired by the Jewish National Fund some 80 years ago, but an Arab family by the name of Gozlan built a house there sometime before the Six Day War. In 1997, a court ordered the family to leave, but its move was delayed until recently, after Elad offered it some financial sweeteners.
The other property is located atop the Mt. of Olives, in an area in which the Jewish organization had not been able to make inroads.
The Elad Association also engages in educational activities, teaching about ancient Jerusalem and its geographical, spiritual, historic and national aspects. Click here, for instance, for an impressive virtual tour of the ancient City of David.