Original subtitles

[narrator] A luxury resort that conceals a top-secret facility.

[Dougal] If this door was actually being opened,

it would mean something very dramatic was happening outside.

Many millions of lives in the U.S. would be in danger.

[narrator] A mysterious complex in Bali

that's hard to place.

If you think of it as sort of a Jurassic Park

meets Disney World, you wouldn't be too far off.

[narrator] And a hollow relic near Jerusalem

that emerged out of a moment of hope.

that emerged out of a moment of hope.

This was a time of optimism

and the building represented that.

[narrator] Decaying relics,

ruins of lost worlds,

sites haunted by the past,

their secrets waiting to be revealed.

On the southern tip of the tropical island of Bali,

lies a collection of ramshackle structures

with a mystical past.

[Jim] From the air over this site,

you see the jungle reclaiming all kinds of buildings

which don't appear to be in use anymore.

[Dominic] This place is really quite beautiful in its own way.

There are lots of trees around and you have

this classical Eastern architecture.

[Rob] You can see one large

building with this arched roof.

Only it's been burned out, only the shell survives.

[Dominic] This place is full of spiritual iconography,

statues of half dragon, half serpent figures,

which suggests religious connotations.

[narrator] These buildings are designed to intrigue,

but this site isn't quite what it seems.

[Rob] The whole place is covered from head to toe

[Rob] The whole place is covered from head to toe

in street art.

Now, if it was indeed spiritual,

surely that wouldn't be there.

[Jim] There's places where you feel like

you're walking into ruin of something ancient.

But then you realize, that kind of a facade

that in fact, everything is relatively recent.

It was just built to look old.

[Dominic] The biggest part of that facade

is its this enormous lump of earth

is its this enormous lump of earth

covered in trees and towering over the rest of the site.

It looks like it's a hill, but it isn't.

It's entirely artificial.

[Rob] A lot of money was put into this place to make

an impression on people.

It's all very Jurassic Park.

[narrator] So, what was this place?

And why did such extensive investment fail to pay off?

[Rob] There are lots of legends about this place,

enough that people just don't go there anymore.

And once you know the story about this site,

And once you know the story about this site,

you'd be right to tread very carefully.

[Dominic] This is the Taman Festival Park,

and it was designed to be the Disneyland of Indonesia.

But something happened here

that made the plan go terribly wrong.

[narrator] It was opened in 1997

and cost $100 million to build.

Ajik Atu is a local resident and guardian of the site.

[Ajik] The owners wanted something extraordinary.

They imagined all forms of entertainment

would be available here.

[Dominic] This place had it all.

They had a 3D cinema screen, pavilions, restaurants.

They even advertised the world's first inverted

roller coaster.

[Jim] In addition to the rides and all the concessions,

it was also meant to be kind of a celebration

it was also meant to be kind of a celebration

of nature with a lot of exotic plants, birds.

[Ajik] There used to be a crocodile enclosure in this area.

There were approximately 150 crocodiles,

both female and male here.

But now, the enclosure has been taken over by weeds.

It's still dangerous to hang out here

because there might be starving crocodiles around.

Some are still on the loose,

so people don't come here anymore.

[narrator] The main attraction though,

[narrator] The main attraction though,

was the huge mound at the center of the park.

[Ajik] This used to be an artificial volcano.

Every day, there was a waterfall show

as well as a rainbow show and even a laser show.

[Rob] Vegas has its water fountains,

Disneyland's got its fireworks,

Taman Festival had this amazing technology

that could draw beautiful shapes across the sky.

[Ajik] They expected that people will be interested in visiting.

[Ajik] They expected that people will be interested in visiting.

But after it opened, the reality wasn't as expected.

Their timing couldn't have been worse.

Just before they opened the park,

the countries of Southeast Asia went through

a spectacular financial crisis

that really dragged a lot of them into deep,

deep recession.

If you remember the financial crisis of 2008 in the U.S.

If you remember the financial crisis of 2008 in the U.S.

and around the world, this was a preview

of that, but it mostly only affected Asia.

[narrator] Furthermore,

Indonesia was going through major political upheaval.

The financial crisis also led to the downfall

of President Suharto, who'd ruled the country

with an iron fist for about 30 years.

So, when he left, that led to a lot of political turmoil

and uncertainty. It wasn't a good climate for tourism.

The park was meant to get over 1,000 visitors a day,

The park was meant to get over 1,000 visitors a day,

but often only one person turned up.

[narrator] As if that wasn't enough,

a huge storm rolled in and the park suffered

a dramatic stroke of bad luck.

In 1998, around March,

there was an extraordinary tragedy.

[Ajik] When the laser show was in full swing,

there was a natural disaster.

Lightning struck the volcano.

The $5 million worth of gadgetry

that was designed to wow the people

lay a smoldering mess of metal and glass.

[Jim] That turned out to be a crushing blow.

They just didn't have the money to repair

their laser lightshow and that was supposed

to be kind of the central draw.

The symbol of the whole park.

[narrator] Later, other parts of the complex

suffered a similar fate.

[Ajik] This used to be a grand

[Ajik] This used to be a grand

and beautiful building

with a traditional Balinese thatched roof.

Very beautiful and attractive.

[narrator] Yet this rusting frame

is all that remains of the central restaurant

after an unexplained fire.

For some, this wasn't just bad luck.

[Dominic] Bali is predominantly a Hindu Island,

and the Balinese have their own interpretation

spiritually and philosophically

of why things went wrong at the park.

[Ajik] Taman Festival Bali was built on approximately

[Ajik] Taman Festival Bali was built on approximately

ten hectares of land, which used to be an area

designated for a Pura Dalem or "Temple of the Dead"

and managed by the people of Sano.

[narrator] "The Temple of the Dead."

One of three sacred temple types in Bali

is typically dedicated to Shiva.

In the Hindu religion, God of Destruction,

and destroyer of evil.

But it wasn't only this temple

that was built over.

that was built over.

Was there something else

behind this theme parks premature demise?

[narrator] Taman Festival was designed to be

the Disneyland of Indonesia, yet it was struck down

by a series of bizarre and unfortunate events.

For some, it was cursed.

The result of building on the site

of a former temple and cemetery.

[Ajik] The construction of Taman Festival

displaced an old cemetery of the victims

displaced an old cemetery of the victims

of the 1974 plane crash where 107 passengers were buried.

[narrator] For the locals,

building on sacred land was a huge mistake

and could explain why the park was struck down

in such dramatic fashion.

[Ajik] Taman Festival being built in a Pura Dalem

or "Template for the Dead" area was absolutely

not something that the spirits here desired,

especially if the development has an element

especially if the development has an element

of extravagance, alcohol sales, and so on.

So, it's very significant.

[narrator] Abandoned in 2000,

the park has since remained eerily silent,

but it's believed the spirits live on.

There are lots of legends

and cautionary stories about this place.

So much so that people just don't visit anymore.

The locals say that there are even man-eating

crocodiles on the loose.

[Ajik] So, the spirits who got time on festival

come in many different forms.

Some are negative, some are positive.

There are some who are still roaming around.

We pay our respects by carrying out

some small rituals, so they guard us.

[narrator] With no plans to demolish the complex,

the tropical forest is claiming it for its own.

the tropical forest is claiming it for its own.

Yet the reasons behind its demise

are still heavily debated.

[Jim] When you see something built as recently

as the 1990s that is today completely decaying

and in disuse and disrepair, there has to have been

some hubris involved, some massive miscalculation,

some misreading of the market.

[Dominic] Whatever your personal beliefs about it,

when you add up the financial crisis,

the failed launch, the fire in the restaurant,

and the catastrophic thunderstorm, it seems

and the catastrophic thunderstorm, it seems

that the odds were just never in favor of this park.

[narrator] In the European country of Belgium,

a series of concrete circles hint at something

hidden from view.

[Geoff] These structures

look almost like landed flying saucers.

[Dominic] When you get a little bit closer,

[Dominic] When you get a little bit closer,

you can see their guns.

In fact, there are lots of them.

[narrator] Venture below ground

and the true extent of this place reveals itself.

[Dominic] There's a maze of tunnels.

It goes on for miles and they're a really strong

reinforced concrete.

[Lynette] It's like you're going into a concrete battleship.

There's everything you need to sustain

people living in close quarters.

[narrator] One section suggests that whoever

was based here, came under siege.

was based here, came under siege.

[Lynette] The concrete has been ripped away

from the reinforcing bar.

The metal is twisted out of shape.

The amount of power and blast and shock and heat

that was released here was phenomenal.

[Dominic] This was the scene of a pivotal moment.

It sent shockwaves rippling out

from Belgium across Europe.

This would change history.

[Geoff] On May 10th, 1940,

something really incredible happened here.

This like outnumbered, outgunned,

small German detachments landed on top

of this state-of-the-art 20th century fortification

meant to resist the onslaught of armies.

And they took it.

It was one of the most audacious acts

in military history.

[Tom] It was deemed to be impregnable.

It was the largest one fortress from Western Europe,

It was the largest one fortress from Western Europe,

and it was taken in the enemy hands in 36 hours.

[narrator] Tom Hendriks is an expert

on this defensive site and its pivotal role

in the history of the country.

[Tom] There wasn't an official war declaration at the time,

so everybody was so surprised.

[narrator] So, how were the troops stationed here

caught totally off guard by this daring operation?

[narrator] In Belgium are the remains

of what was one of the largest fortresses

in the world.

Construction of this complex began in the early 1930s,

but this was all about defense.

There was no appetite for war.

Belgium was ripped to shreds in the First World War.

The battle lines had been drawn right through

The battle lines had been drawn right through

Belgium and the violence

and destruction bled Belgium dry.

[narrator] In 1936, the king announced

the country would remain neutral

in the event of another war.

[Dominic] That absolutely did not mean that Belgium

was going to leave itself open to attack.

It focused instead on defending

very specific areas that it thought would be vulnerable

to attack by enemy forces.

to attack by enemy forces.

[narrator] With the German border just 20 miles away,

a ring of forts had been built

around the city of Liege.

Now, four new forts were constructed

to further protect the border.

The biggest was Fort Eben-Emael.

Fort Eben-Emael was designed

to cover the critical bridges across the Albert canal,

which would be the German highway into Belgium.

They constructed this fortress with everything

that they had learned from the First World War.

[Tom] The war that took place in trenches

[Tom] The war that took place in trenches

and that's the reason why they constructed

such a big fortress with many barriers, anti-tank ditches.

Everything to prevent an attack

by infantry men or by tanks.

[narrator] The total surface area

is approximately 185 acres,

yet much of this site lies hidden from view.

[Tom] Here we arrived at what they call in French...

So, it means in English,

"The junction of the star" and it connects five galleries

of the fortress with each other.

of the fortress with each other.

Now in total, we have here a gallery system

of five kilometers inside of the fortress.

[Dominic] The fort had all the manpower

and supplies to be able to hold out

and defend this part of Belgium for months.

The planners had wargamed every scenario

they could think of and they believed it

to be indestructible and totally impregnable.

[narrator] Even by today's standards,

the firepower held here is seriously impressive.

Here we are at the largest gun emplacement

Here we are at the largest gun emplacement

of the fortress like, you could see it was equipped

with two variables of 120 millimeters and it could throw

a shell for about 17, 17 and a half kilometers.

[narrator] With this range of ten miles,

these guns could fire two tons of artillery

rounds at any moment.

[Geoff] The Germans pondered this dilemma.

How do we circumvent

a fortress as sophisticated as Eben-Emael?

If we attack it in a conventional way,

If we attack it in a conventional way,

it'll be a frontal assault against

this entrenched artillery,

it'll be a really attritional bloody battle,

it'll disjoint the whole German war plan.

So, they decided to do it by stealth.

[Lynette] Kurt Student, who is one of the people

who invented the idea of German paratroops

decides the only way to defeat Fort Eben-Emael

is to drop people right down on the rim.

is to drop people right down on the rim.

[narrator] This was the first time it had ever been

attempted in war and they weren't just going to drop

these men from normal planes.

The Germans decided to use a platform

that the Belgians would never suspect.

Instead of coming at the clanking away

and throwing up lots of dust and smoke and noise,

they would use gliders, they would land relatively

small detachments of German paratroops in gliders

on the roof of these fortresses silently

in the dead of night.

in the dead of night.

[Dominic] The roof of the fort afforded only

a very short landing space.

So, the pilots for the gliders trend

very specifically, they dropped the wheels

immediately after takeoff and they had wrapped

the nose cones of the gliders in barbed wire

and metal strips in order to make the craft stop more quickly,

and in practice, they found that they could stop

in a space of just 20 yards.

[narrator] May 10th, 1940.

4:25 a.m.

Under the cover of darkness,

the silent assassins landed, armed with a deadly weapon.

the silent assassins landed, armed with a deadly weapon.

Each glider could carry a squad of seven or eight

fully armed and equipped men,

but they were carrying something new.

[Dominic] The hollow charge.

This was a dome shaped explosive

with a concave bottom that focused the blast

in one direction only.

It was an absolutely lethal bit of kit.

[Geoff] The German paratroops had trained

on this for months,

they were expertly trained, they knew exactly what to do.

they were expertly trained, they knew exactly what to do.

[narrator] First, they had to take out

the major casemates to immobilize

the Belgian weapons.

[Tom] Here we are at Maastricht Fort.

These casemates was attacked by a German

group of Fallschirmjager.

They placed the tape charge of 11 and a half kilograms

and glue on this old gun inside against the back wall

of the gun room itself.

So, the follow was very large.

[narrator] The Germans struck multiple positions,

[narrator] The Germans struck multiple positions,

causing massive destruction to the fort,

and enabling the Germans to get inside.

[Lynette] For the Belgian soldiers inside,

there was instant disorientation.

For them,

they were in the strongest safest place in Belgium.

[narrator] The German paratroopers

had penetrated the fortress.

But this commando raid wasn't quite what it appeared.

But this commando raid wasn't quite what it appeared.

[narrator] In May 1940,

a group of elite German paratroopers landed

on top of a vast underground fortress.

[Lynette] The gliders were equipped

with new high explosive shaped charges

that had never been used in war before

and swiftly and silently, they prepared to blast

their way into what was then one of the biggest buildings

their way into what was then one of the biggest buildings

in all of Europe.

[Geoff] The battle itself inside the fort was terrifying

for all concerned. They would drop explosives

and smoke grenades down the air shaft to confuse

the Belgians keep them down below and disorganized

and on the defensive until help arrives.

[narrator] Seeing the tremendous damage

the hollow charges could inflict and knowing

the Germans had backup on its way,

the Belgians quickly surrendered.

But it was part of an elaborate deception.

[Lynette] German Army Group B was pretending

to be the armored fist that was going to smash

through northern Belgium into France and that was a trick.

Army Group B that was smashing past Fort Eben-Emael

was distracting everybody from the German Army Group A

that was sneaking into France through the back door.

that was sneaking into France through the back door.

[Dominic] Clearly this was a major victory operation,

and it opened up the way for Germany's Blitzkrieg

to roll across Europe.

But more broadly, it said a far more powerful

message to the allies. Germany was saying

that it could take out Europe's strongest defenses.

It was sending the simple message that it was coming

for the allies and it did.

[Geoff] And one hesitates to give Hitler credit

for anything but there was a seed

of brilliance in this plan.

Landing these paratroopers on the roof and using

Landing these paratroopers on the roof and using

this shaped charge to blast a hole through the parapets

and get down into the guts of the fortress quickly

and contain the garrison while relief columns came up

unopposed and reinforced you.

Truly brilliant.

[narrator] Fortunately, Hitler's plans

eventually crumbled,

and Belgium was liberated in 1944.

But this fortress is a painful reminder

that once again, the country had found itself

on the front lines of a world war

on the front lines of a world war

that laid waste to this land.

Amid the forested hills of West Virginia,

a hunting site is so well hidden that for decades,

no one knew it was there.

[Jim] You come around this bend and you see

this grand sprawling hotel in the classic style.

[Dougal] There's this croquet lawns and very well-tended gardens

[Dougal] There's this croquet lawns and very well-tended gardens

and this majestic looking estate building.

[narrator] It looks like one of the most upscale

resorts in America.

This grand hotel attracted movie stars

and presidents.

[Robert] Joseph and Rose Kennedy

honeymooned here from Boston.

[Geoff] The Duke of Windsor comes here

with Wallis Simpson, Nehru comes here from India,

and you've got all manner of celebrity.

There's nothing abandoned or disused about this place,

There's nothing abandoned or disused about this place,

but it has a secret.

[narrator] It's almost imperceptible,

but there's something strange going on here.

[Geoff] You got these green walls,

and it looks almost like a garage door.

But it doesn't fit with the place.

It looks armored, it looks fortified.

[Prof. Dougal] There's ventilation shafts

that don't seem to be attached

to the actual complex itself.

[narrator] And inside is a door that no one

wants to see opened.

wants to see opened.

[Dougal] If this door was actually being opened,

it would mean many millions of lives

in the US would be in danger.

[narrator] What links this ominous steel door

to the incongruous structures in the woods?

Dr. Robert Conte has worked

at Greenbrier Resort for 30 years.

He's written the book on the history of this place.

[Robert] Greenbrier Hotel vendors since 1913 with lots

and lots of additions.

and lots of additions.

You can see the hotel expanded with these banquet halls.

Then up on the hill is the West Virginia wing.

[Geoff] You walk into this place, you know

it's chandeliers, Persian rugs, beautiful furniture.

I mean this place is first class all the way.

[Robert] There is now, and it has been

for generations one of the finest resorts in America.

[narrator] And this luxurious interior

is the perfect cover for an abandoned

underground site accessed

underground site accessed

by the threatening out of place door.

[Robert] The chances of anybody stumbling

upon this were pretty remote.

[narrator] And behind the door,

a deserted tunnel leads deeper underground.

[Robert] You're looking down a very long,

over 400-foot-long tunnel and it's pretty spooky looking

when you don't know where all this is leading.

[narrator] The date of construction offers up a clue.

1958. The height of the Cold War.

1958. The height of the Cold War.

It was very much built within the assumption

of a large-scale war.

[Geoff] A whole generation of Americans

lived in fear of nuclear Armageddon.

[narrator] In the early 1950s, President Dwight Eisenhower

started to plan for a doomsday scenario.

Soviet nuclear attack on the US.

When the Greenbrier had been turned

into a military hospital during the Second World War,

into a military hospital during the Second World War,

Eisenhower had stayed here.

[Jim] When Eisenhower became president,

he remembered this region and realized

it might be a good place for a special plan he had.

[narrator] Eisenhower saw the need

for a top secret anti-nuclear bunker.

[Robert] This whole hidden in plain sight that was probably

the cleverness of the whole project.

[narrator] But it had to be built

without anyone knowing.

without anyone knowing.

So, its construction had to coincide

with the addition of a wing to the Greenbrier Resort.

And while they were placing this wing

on the surface of the earth, beside the Greenbrier Resort,

underneath, they were building this very secret construction.

[narrator] On the surface, work began on the hotel's

new West Virginia Wing in 1958,

but the cover story didn't fool everybody.

but the cover story didn't fool everybody.

[Jim] Of course, you can't build something

this big without people asking a few questions.

The manager of the resort at that time said,

but I just saw 110 urinals being installed.

There's obviously something else going on here.

[narrator] The construction went over two levels.

[Dougal] The walls are some two feet thick

with steel reinforcements and the whole lot was capped

with a concrete roof and then some 20 feet of earth above.

So the whole thing was completely

encased and hidden away.

encased and hidden away.

[Robert] The bunker just about where these buildings are,

where the fountain is against a brick wall.

It's really just on the other side,

there's only about 50 feet of dirt

between the bottom of the overbuilding

and the top of the covert building.

[Geoff] The only people who knew about its existence,

fewer than five people in the US government.

That's how secret it was.

[Robert] Out here on these terraces,

there have been lots of parties.

Those people would never realize that underneath

the West Virginia Wing is a secret bunker.

[narrator] By 1962, the bunker was complete.

But who was it for?

[narrator] In West Virginia,

a massive top-secret complex lies abandoned

below the luxury Greenbrier Resort.

The secret of the Greenbrier bunker was so well kept

that employees that serve there

while this bunker was operational,

they knew something was there,

but they had no idea what it was.

[Robert] I must have walked through this corridor,

[Robert] I must have walked through this corridor,

you know thousand times

and it never crossed my mind

that there was hidden behind the wall

was ten ton blast door.

[narrator] And beyond the door lie the remains

of a project that was vital

to America's nuclear defense planning.

[Geoff] The president at the time, Dwight D. Eisenhower,

you know, ask the question,

how do we maintain the continuity

of the American government during a nuclear war?

[narrator] Eisenhower wanted to ensure

[narrator] Eisenhower wanted to ensure

government could continue

if Washington DC was attacked.

[Jim] The idea was they could lead

the entire leadership of the US government

underground to survive a potential nuclear war.

[Robert] This was an emergency relocation center

for the legislative branch of the federal government.

It was big enough to hold the members of Congress,

the Senate, and the House, the leaders of government.

[narrator] Following a nuclear strike,

the members of Congress would be brought here.

the members of Congress would be brought here.

If this door were to open,

that means something catastrophic

has happened out there.

That meant the seat of the federal government

was under attack and hundreds of millions of Americans

are terrified because their lives are hanging

in the balance at this point.

[narrator] The Congress people who were to enter

this now deserted warren had little idea what lay ahead.

Once you went through this door,

Once you went through this door,

then you just enter this long 433-foot tunnel.

That's a long walk to find out

what the new world was gonna be.

[narrator] At the end of the corridor

are the remnants of a series of showers.

Now this is a decontamination unit here.

So, the water would come out along here,

a couple of nozzles on top

and that's just so that you don't bring that fall out

that contaminated dust inside the locker facility itself.

[narrator] Deeper inside, the 100,000 square foot bunker

[narrator] Deeper inside, the 100,000 square foot bunker

has everything needed to govern the nation.

[Robert] This is where the House of Representatives would have met.

So, all together, there are 435 seats,

and every one of them would have had a microphone,

so they would have recorded all sessions of Congress.

[Geoff] And then the mountaineer room

with 130 seats

that would house the United States Senate.

[Jim] They gave a lot of thought to communications.

They had extensive facilities for radio and television.

They even had a broadcast room with a backdrop

They even had a broadcast room with a backdrop

of the Capitol dome,

so they could talk to the public on TV

as if they never left Washington.

[narrator] The floor below

hid all the backup government would require.

[Robert] There were 1,100 beds.

Every one of these beds was assigned to a member of Congress

and when they would go through a reelection cycle

or people retired or died or whatever,

they had to reassign all these beds.

[narrator] And the clinic, 12 bed hospital and pharmacy

[narrator] And the clinic, 12 bed hospital and pharmacy

were also prepared for the worst.

The Greenbrier bunker remained on high alert

for 30 years.

With the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s,

many in government felt it no longer had a use,

but they couldn't agree on what to do with it.

[Robert] You want to get something done,

you leak it to the Washington Post.

[Jim] In 1992, the Washington Post

ran a big article exposing the existence of the bunker.

ran a big article exposing the existence of the bunker.

Soon after that, the government began

to decommission the facility.

[narrator] The question of an emergency government facility

is no less relevant today.

[Geoff] Is there a new Greenbrier underground bunker

somewhere for Congress to go in the event of a nuclear war?

And if so, where is it?

[narrator] In Abu Dis, on the edge of Jerusalem,

[narrator] In Abu Dis, on the edge of Jerusalem,

stands a monument to a lost piece.

[Rob] It appears like it was built recently.

The stonework is all clean and in good condition,

but there are no windows or no doors.

It's clear that work ever was started here

didn't get finished.

[narrator] Inside, it appears to have been designed

for a very specific function.

[Sascha] And it kinda reminds you

of the Roman Senate a bit.

of the Roman Senate a bit.

You can imagine that this was a place

where lively debate was meant to carry on.

[narrator] Climbing through the vacant floors,

its proximity to the holy city

and its troubled history becomes clear.

[Lynette] When you're looking out

these upper windows

towards the Old City of Jerusalem,

you can see a golden dome, the Dome of the Rock.

[Sascha] You can see the separation barrier

that divides Israel and Palestine.

that divides Israel and Palestine.

It's hard to imagine that it wasn't somehow connected

to that conflict

that has consumed this region for decades.

But why wasn't it ever finished?

[narrator] Ahmed Qurei is the former prime minister

of the Palestinian National Authority.

It's been designed in a very good way.

Look how beautiful it is.

Look how beautiful it is.

[narrator] In 1992, Mr. Qurei traveled to Oslo, Norway,

for a series of secret meetings with Israel.

It led to the momentous Oslo Peace Accords

signed in September, 1993.

The accords created a path

towards Palestinian self-governance

in the West Bank and Gaza Strip

and laid the groundwork for a more permanent peace deal.

[Lynette] The Palestine Liberation Organization

[Lynette] The Palestine Liberation Organization

was going to come and take up governance

and instead of governance by Israeli military authorities,

the Palestinian territories

would be governed by their own rulers.

What had seemed like an impossible quest for peace

was now on the horizon.

[narrator] Out of that era defining deal

came this, the Palestinian Legislative Council building

came this, the Palestinian Legislative Council building

or parliament.

It was to become a center of Palestinian democracy.

For the Palestinian National Council

had been meeting in an exile for years,

but now, finally, because of the Oslo Accords,

they could meet here in their own lands.

[narrator] But deciding on the exact location

to build it was deeply political,

even within the Palestinian leadership.

[Lynette] To this day, it is Israeli government policy

that Jerusalem is the undivided capital

of the State of Israel

and the problem is that the Palestinian Authority

is very unequivocal that from their point of view,

Jerusalem is the capital of the Palestinian Arab state.

[narrator] Some thought that the town of Abu Dis

could provide an artful solution to this problem.

could provide an artful solution to this problem.

The line declared by Israel as the municipal boundary

of Jerusalem runs right past the parliament.

[Sascha] Abu Dis was considered

by some of the Palestinian Authority

to be part of Jerusalem.

Whether by accident or by design,

part of the parliament was actually located

in the Israeli side of the line.

It's impossible to say for certain

whether this was intentional,

whether this was intentional,

but the symbolic significance of it was hard to ignore.

[Rob] Construction began in 1996.

This was a time of optimism

and the building represented that.

[narrator] As construction progressed,

it seemed that this chamber would soon become a place

of lively political debate.

I was the speaker of the council.

This is the plenary were the meetings of the council.

This is the plenary were the meetings of the council.

There are rooms for the speaker,

for the committees.

And upstairs also for the employees.

[Rob] 162 seats were installed

for elected Palestinian representatives.

It certainly looked like it would have been

an impressive place to plan for the state's future.

[narrator] But as the imposing concrete barrier

that reads its way past the building suggests,

the peace deal and the parliament

were built on shaky ground.

were built on shaky ground.

[narrator] In Abu Dis, on the edge of Jerusalem,

the remains of a Palestinian Parliament

tied up in an era defining peace process.

Awad Awad is a Palestinian photojournalist

who witnessed the construction

of this important building

and the events that led to its demise.

[Awad] This room was specially designed

for Yasser Arafat,

for the president of the Palestine Authority

back then.

[narrator] The Oslo peace accord signed in 1993

provided a timeline for a more permanent deal.

But while the parliament was still being built,

time to reach an agreement was running out.

It really all came to a head in the year 2000

and there was an attempt that July to broker a peace deal

and there was an attempt that July to broker a peace deal

under Clinton's oversight at Camp David,

but it just didn't work.

[Lynette] Yasser Arafat, the revered chairman

of the Palestine Liberation Organization,

turned down an offer

for a deal which would have given him

almost everything the Palestinian people

had asked for.

[narrator] But almost everything was not enough

[narrator] But almost everything was not enough

to reach an agreement

and one of the key reasons the talks failed

can be seen from this very office.

That's why this place was picked to be the office

for the president of the Palestine authority.

We can see both the Al Aqsa mosque

and the Dome of the Rock mosque.

[narrator] Among other disputes,

that two sides could not reconcile

their conflicting claims to Jerusalem

and the holy areas around the Al Aqsa mosque

and the holy areas around the Al Aqsa mosque

and events there would soon leave this building empty

and cut off from its future.

[Lynette] Ariel Sharon, the Israeli Leader

of the Opposition.

A hate figure across the Arab world.

When he and a massive Israeli security force

walked onto the plaza of the Al Aqsa mosque,

he was putting up a finger to the Arab population,

he was putting up a finger to the Arab population,

to the Palestinian population,

to the Muslim population.

[narrator] He declares that the site,

home to some of the holiest places

in both Islam and Judaism,

would remain under Israeli control forever.

A wave of violence broke out which came to be called

the Second Intifada

with Palestinian suicide bomber attacks

in Israeli cities,

and Israeli military advances on to the West Bank.

and Israeli military advances on to the West Bank.

[Rob] Construction of the building stopped,

but then will happen next sealed its fate.

[narrator] As the torrent of violence raged on,

Israeli forces moved to physically separate

the two sides.

They maintain it is necessary for security,

but it had another effect.

[Rob] The wall made of concrete

surrounded much of the West Bank

and it cut the parliament off from Jerusalem.

and it cut the parliament off from Jerusalem.

You can see just how close it runs to the building today.

From the Palestinian point of view,

they couldn't put their leadership in a space

that was now cut off

from what they thought of as their capital, Jerusalem.

This building, which was the product

of this hard-fought and hard-won peace process

was ultimately also a victim of its failure.

[narrator] Today, this forlorn ruin

has become a symbol of a more optimistic time.

[Sascha] After decades of fighting,

this building showed that peace

might one day be possible.

I think that peace is always a possibility

that the hope is always there

as long as there's people willing to hold on to it.

as long as there's people willing to hold on to it.

[narrator] And the Parliament building

may yet play a different part

in the future of Palestinians.

Ownership of the building was transferred

to the Al-Quds University,

but since then they've struggled to find investment

to renovate the sites,

but they haven't given up hope yet.

So, who knows?

One day this place might get a positive use.