{"id":45428,"date":"2025-11-19T14:58:45","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T11:58:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peacenow.org.il\/?p=45428"},"modified":"2025-11-20T20:49:27","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T17:49:27","slug":"civil-administration-announces-intent-to-seize-approximately-1800-dunams-at-the-sebastia-archaeological-site","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peacenow.org.il\/en\/civil-administration-announces-intent-to-seize-approximately-1800-dunams-at-the-sebastia-archaeological-site","title":{"rendered":"Civil Administration Announces Intent to Seize Approximately 1,800 Dunams at the Sebastia Archaeological Site"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Civil Administration has announced its intention<\/a> to seize roughly 1,800 dunams at the archaeological site of Sebastia \u2014 the largest land appropriation for antiquities ever recorded, adjacent to the village homes and to Area B, and affecting thousands of dunams of privately owned olive groves.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a public notice, the authority said it plans to expropriate the Sebastia archaeological site for development and <\/span>to prepare it<\/span> for public visits. The move is highly unusual, both because of the site\u2019s location and because it <\/span>is carried out<\/span> under an administrative order for antiquities.<\/span><\/p>\n

The plan would seize nearly 1,800 dunams belonging to the Palestinian villages of Burqa and Sebastia, including thousands of olive trees. <\/span>The land is privately owned and registered in the land registry <\/span>by<\/span> Palestinian owners<\/span>.<\/span> Residents and landowners have <\/span>been given<\/span> 14 days to file objections to prevent the order from taking effect. The government has also allocated more than 30 million shekels<\/a> for developing the Sebastia site.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Peace Now: \u201cThe Israeli government\u2019s drive for dispossession and annexation knows no limits, and it is prepared to violate international law openly to pursue it. This is part of a broader effort to take control and expand settlements in areas northwest of Nablus that Israel evacuated during the disengagement. Sebastia is a heritage site located inside a Palestinian village, part of its history and part of a future Palestinian state. Under the Oslo Accords, signed by Israel, it should have been transferred to Palestinian administration long ago. Israeli greed harms not only the landowners, but also the prospect of a peaceful solution that upholds the rights and heritage of both peoples.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Land expropriations for antiquities development have been carried out in the West Bank, to the best of our knowledge, five times since 1967:<\/span><\/p>\n