JERUSALEM/ISTANBUL

Israel plans to seize 1.8 million square meters (1,800 dunams) of land in the northern West Bank on the pretext of developing an archaeological site, local media said Thursday.

The Haaretz newspaper said the confiscation order by the Israeli Civil Administration includes the Sebastia archaeological site itself and large areas of olive groves containing thousands of trees owned by Palestinians.

It added that the order, which was published last week, also covers lands near the Palestinian town of Sebastia, whose residents rely on tourism as their main source of income.

The planned takeover will mainly impact the residents of Sebastia and the neighboring Burqa village, the report said.

Palestinian landowners were granted 14 days to file objections before the confiscation is implemented, Haaretz said, describing the move as the largest seizure of land for archaeological purposes in the occupied West Bank since 1967.

Sebastia lies on the main road between the Nablus and Jenin governorates and covers an area of around 4,777 dunams.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism, the archaeological area of Sebastia dates back to the Bronze Age (3,200 BC) and contains Arab, Canaanite, Roman, Byzantine, Phoenician, and Islamic remains.

In July 2024, the Knesset, with majority support from the coalition and some opposition members, passed a government-backed bill extending the authority of the Israeli Antiquities Authority to archaeological sites across all areas of the West Bank, according to the Palestinian research center, Madar.

Separately, Israeli authorities have issued 40 demolition and construction-halt notices over the past two days in the Wadi al-Hummus neighborhood, southeast of East Jerusalem, according to the Jerusalem Governorate on Thursday.

“The (Israeli) occupation delivered 30 demolition notices on Wednesday for buildings located outside the separation wall in Wadi al-Hummus, despite these buildings being located in Area A and having official Palestinian permits.”

Under the 1995 Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, was divided into three portions – Area A, B, and C.

Area A, which constitutes 18% of the West Bank, remains under Palestinian administrative and security control.

In a landmark opinion last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.