Israel advanced a bill on Tuesday that would expand Israeli civilian authority sweeping authority over antiquities and archaeology in the occupied West Bank, a move that human rights groups warned would lead to the annexation of the Palestinian territory.
As first reported by Haaretz, the Likud-backed bill would empower a new government body under the purview of the Israeli heritage minister to purchase and expropriate land. The proposed “Judea and Samaria Heritage Authority”—using the biblical term favored by the Israeli government for the occupied West Bank—“will hold exclusive responsibility for all matters relating to heritage, antiquities and archaeology in the area.” Those responsibilities would reportedly include excavating and overseeing heritage sites and archaeological digs, including those currently managed by the IDF-appointed archaeology staff officer in the West Bank Civil Administration.
Tuesday’s vote (23-14) was the first of three votes needed to pass the legislation into law. If the bill is enacted, the body’s jurisdiction would extend into Area B—which, under the Oslo Accords, falls under Palestinian Authority civil control—in addition to Area C, which is administered entirely by Israel. Per the proposal, the management and maintenance of nature reserves would remain under the current military-governed unit. However, the “Judea and Samaria Heritage Authority” would retain final authority in any other disputes. Matters concerning the care and management of holy sites, too, would be subject to Israeli law.
Amichai Eliyahu, a member of the ultranationalist Otzma Yehudit party led by Itamar Ben-Gvir, has been tapped to lead the proposed body. A vocal advocate for annexing the West Bank, Eliyahu was photographed in February raising an Israeli flag atop the Sartaba archaeological site.
Also proposed is a new public council for the heritage authority, whose members would be appointed by the heritage minister. The authority would also be able to delegate administration of specified sites to local authorities or corporations, subject to the council’s approval.
Emek Shaveh, an Israeli NGO focused on archaeology, said in a statement following the vote that “the legislation structurally precludes Palestinian participation in the governance and management of heritage sites.” The statement added that if enacted, “the bill would amount to the annexation of antiquities sites across the West Bank and a sweeping assault on Palestinian rights to their land and cultural landscape,” and warned of its “severe” consequences for Israel’s international standing.
Archaeology in the occupied West Bank is frequently politicized as part of broader territorial disputes between Palestinians and Israeli settlers. In September 2023, UNESCO added Tell es-Sultan—a prehistoric site in Jericho—to its World Heritage List, drawing criticism from some far-right Israeli politicians and organizations. Both sides reportedly protested the designation during a meeting at the Hasmonean Palaces, one of several archaeological sites near Jericho under Israeli control, within a newly established “touristic settlement” framed as an effort to preserve world heritage.
In recent months, Palestinian authorities and civilians have reported escalating Israeli encroachment in the West Bank, including multiple raids by settler groups on the Roman-era archaeological site of Sebastia, home to roughly 3,500 Palestinians. Israeli authorities have also sought to redesignate the area as Israeli territory, citing biblical references and Sebastia’s role as the capital of the northern Israelite kingdom of Samaria between the 9th and 8th centuries BCE.
An opinion paper submitted to the Knesset’s Education Committee, which oversees the vote, was excerpted by Haaretz. It warned that such an Israeli policy would have a profound impact on communities situated near archaeological sites, stating that “it can be assumed that nearly every village or community contains archaeological and historical remains of varying scope requiring archaeological oversight.” Its authors added that “expanding supervision creates broad openings for advancing racist and destructive policies.”
