Palestinians decry Israeli push for control over ancient West Bank sites

By Ali Sawafta

SEBASTIA, West Bank, June 25 (Reuters) – An Israeli bill that would extend civil control over ancient sites in the West Bank has drawn criticism from Palestinians and Israeli rights groups who say it is tantamount to annexation of occupied land and would expand Jewish settlements.

The “Heritage Authority in Judea and Samaria” bill passed one of three votes by Israel’s parliament in May, but it is unclear whether the final vote will be held before parliament disperses ahead of an election expected by October 27. 

The bill would bring management of Roman, Byzantine and Crusader-era sites under Israeli Ministry of Heritage management and allow related “expropriation and purchase of real estate” in the West Bank, which Israel calls by its Hebrew biblical name.

That in effect would strip away oversight of some ancient sites from the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, which under the 1990s Oslo peace accords has exercised limited self-rule in parts of the West Bank, territory Israel captured in a 1967 war.

The PA’s tourism minister, Hani Al-Hayek, said “control over these antiquities is intended to expand control and expand settlements in these areas, deep inside Palestinian territories.”

Israel says the bill’s purpose is to protect ancient sites.

VILLAGE NEAR ANCIENT SEBASTIA SITE FACES LAND CONFISCATION

Peace Now, an Israeli settlements watchdog, said the bill “constitutes an annexationist measure in every respect” and would lead to broad-scale confiscation of Palestinian land. 

Using archaeology to expand settlements is not a new practice, but the scope of the Israeli government’s measures has been unprecedented, Peace Now said.

One example is the Palestinian village of Sebastia in the northern West Bank where residents, many of whom trace their roots to the land back centuries, rely heavily on tourism to a nearby archaeological site. 

The ancient site in Sebastia has ruins from the 9th-century B.C. Israelite kingdom as well as Roman, Byzantine, Crusader and Ottoman remnants, archaeologists say. It is on a tentative list for inclusion as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In late 2025, Israel announced a plan to seize about 1,800 dunams (445 acres) at the site, which it said was meant to develop the area, affecting around 5,000 olive trees growing in the village groves, village officials said. 

“They are incorporating areas containing water resources, roads and antiquities, leaving us as residents without any resources. It is part of settlement expansion,” said Sebastia Deputy Mayor Nizar Kayed.

Business had already been suffering since late 2023 with tourism dropping because of war in the region, said Nahed Sakha, whose Sebastia restaurant is on land slated for confiscation.

“It seems that the Israeli plan (is) to isolate the archaeological site from the people,” Sakha said.

ISRAEL CITES ANCIENT TIES TO THE LAND

Israeli parliament member Zvi Sukkot, who has been key in advancing the new bill, says extending Israeli control over the sites is meant to safeguard ancient remnants dating back to biblical times. 

“There’s nothing here that changes the legal status of Judea and Samaria,” he told Reuters. 

“There are many people who are bothered by our desire to prove the ties between the people of Israel and this land,” he said. “All the stories of the Bible, all our history, the people (of Israel) were born in Judea and Samaria.” 

Sukkot is a member of the pro-settler Religious Zionism party. Like many in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition, he opposes the creation of a Palestinian state and advocates annexation of the West Bank.

U.N. bodies and most countries view Israel’s settlements as illegal under international law, violating the Fourth Geneva Convention provision barring the transfer of civilian population into occupied territory.

Israel rejects this view, saying the West Bank, which it captured in the 1967 war, is disputed territory. It cites security needs and biblical and historical ties to the land.     

But the new bill has also caused concern among legal officials in Israel’s defence establishment and Israeli scientists. 

In an open letter to Netanyahu and Sukkot, the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities called for it to be scrapped. 

“This will undoubtedly lead to an immediate deterioration in Israel’s international relations in the field of archaeology, and it will also have an impact on other areas of science and research,” the academy said. 

(Additional reporting by Maayan Lubell, Nuha Amer, Hannah Confino and Dedi Hayun, Writing by Maayan Lubell, Editing by Timothy Heritage)

By Ali Sawafta | Reuters | © Copyright Thomson Reuters 2026.