RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Israeli municipality in Jerusalem is embarking on a mega project it dubbed "Silicon Wadi" (Arabic for "Silicon Valley," a reference to the US region where thousands of tech giants are based) in the Wadi al-Joz neighborhood of East Jerusalem, according to the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation. 

The project, announced June 3, is designed to create a technological, financial, business, commercial and hospitality hub. The plan allocates 250,000 square meters to high-tech industrial employment centers, 50,000 to shopping centers and another 50,000 to hotels. The construction, which will take until 2022, will cost an estimated 2.1 billion shekels ($600 million).

If completed, the project will destroy an existing industrial area in East Jerusalem, where dozens of shops, restaurants and facilities like vehicle repair shops and parts stores are located.

Since May 31, the Israeli municipality in Jerusalem has distributed eviction notices to 33 facilities and shops in the industrial area, according to which they have until Dec. 30 to leave before their shops are demolished, the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Kamal Obeidat, told Al-Monitor. Another 17 sites are expected to receive the same news.