The establishment of the Heritage Authority as a parallel body to the Israel Antiquities Authority mirrors the model used to create the Settlement Administration at the start of the current government. That move produced de facto annexation of Area C in the West Bank.
On Tuesday, 3 February 2026, the Knesset Education Committee is scheduled to vote on the bill titled “The Judea and Samaria Heritage Authority.” The proposed law would establish a statutory body parallel to the Israel Antiquities Authority, operating specifically in the West Bank. The new Heritage Authority would be granted broader powers than those held by the Israel Antiquities Authority inside Israel with regard to land containing potential antiquities. This bill represents a political and diplomatic threat, opening the door to land appropriation and non-professional political appointments:
Annexation of the Territory and the Dismantling of the Civil Administration
The proposed Heritage Authority Law constitutes another significant step in the annexation of the West Bank and in the transfer of authorities away from the Civil Administration. Because the West Bank is not part of the State of Israel, responsibility for managing the daily lives of residents currently rests with the Civil Administration under the military. Establishing a Heritage Authority under the direct authority of the Minister of Heritage would remove responsibility for antiquities from the Civil Administration and transfer it to the minister and the Ministry of Heritage. A similar process occurred in 2023 with the creation of the Settlement Administration under the Ministry of Defense and the direct authority of Bezalel Smotrich, serving as an additional minister in the Ministry of Defense. The Heritage Authority would operate under Knesset legislation, rather than on the basis of coalition agreements as occurred with the Settlement Administration. This change creates a precedent for the establishment of additional parallel administrative bodies dealing with West Bank affairs, ultimately undermining the role of the Civil Administration.
Unprecedented Powers over Land Management
The Authority would operate under legislation modeled on the Israel Antiquities Authority Law. Once established, it would be granted powers to manage antiquities, conduct excavations, carry out conservation work, supervise sites, and declare archaeological sites in the West Bank. Currently, responsibility for antiquities in the West Bank lies with the Civil Administration, and the official responsible for archaeological excavations, antiquities protection, and safeguarding sites is the Staff Officer for Archaeology within the Civil Administration.
The bill includes several extreme provisions concerning land: the authority to purchase land for the purpose of safeguarding, conserving, researching, and developing sites; and the authority to expropriate land and antiquities. In practice, this would allow the Authority to expropriate privately owned land under the pretext of protecting antiquities. Since Palestinians do not sell land to Israelis and generally reject compensation in cases of expropriation, the bill creates a mechanism enabling settlers to take control of archaeological sites and Palestinian-owned land.
Control Transferred to Settlers
Unlike the Israel Antiquities Authority, whose governing council is composed of professional researchers and academic experts, the governing council of the proposed Heritage Authority would be composed of settler representatives and public figures appointed by the minister.
Risk of Intervention in Areas A and B
The bill does not yet specify what powers the Heritage Authority would hold in Areas A and B. In 2024, the Security Cabinet instructed the Staff Officer for Archaeology to enforce antiquities-protection measures in Area B. If the new law authorizes oversight and management of antiquities in Areas A and B, it would mean that any construction within Palestinian Authority areas would require approval from the Heritage Authority. It is important to recall that all Palestinian towns and villages are situated near archaeological sites, so such a decision would have far-reaching consequences for Palestinian development and construction possibilities.
The original version of the bill, titled “Amendment to the Israel Antiquities Authority Law – Authority of the Israel Antiquities Authority in Judea and Samaria” sought to grant the Israel Antiquities Authority jurisdiction over the West Bank. Due to legal constraints, the opposition of the Israel Antiquities Authority, and objections from the archaeological community, lawmakers decided instead to establish a separate Heritage Authority subordinate directly to the Ministry of Heritage and the Minister of Heritage.