{"id":2057,"date":"2025-02-21T13:56:52","date_gmt":"2025-02-21T13:56:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/?p=2057"},"modified":"2025-03-13T14:13:23","modified_gmt":"2025-03-13T14:13:23","slug":"new-body-wbank-archaeology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/new-body-wbank-archaeology\/","title":{"rendered":"In face of IAA\u2019s opposition MK Amit Halevi promotes the establishment of a new body to oversee West Bank archaeology"},"content":{"rendered":"

In face of IAA\u2019s opposition MK Amit Halevi promotes the establishment of a new body to oversee West Bank archaeology<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Download as a PDF<\/p>\n

In response to the Israel Antiquities Authority\u2019s (IAA) objection to the bill to extend its\u00a0jurisdiction into the West Bank, MK Amit Halevi (Likud) has proposed establishing a new administrative body to oversee antiquities in the West Bank\u00a0which would fall under the Ministry of Heritage, rather than the Civil Administration. \u201cI would have preferred to grant authority to the Israel Antiquities Authority,\u201d Halevi said at the Knesset\u2019s Education, Culture and Sports Committee\u00a0session<\/a>\u00a0on the bill last week)\u00a011th<\/sup>\u00a0Feb).\u00a0\u201cHowever, given their opposition, this is the solution we found.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regardless of whether the IAA or any other administrative body assumes control, any replacement of a military authority with a civilian one would carry the same implications for compliance with international law and annexation. According to the bill, Israeli law would replace Jordanian law in governing antiquities in the West Bank. During last week\u2019s committee session, the Ministry of Justice reiterated its concerns that the extraterritorial application of Israeli law could be perceived as annexation.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Alon Arad attending the Knesset committee session via zoom<\/p><\/div>\n

The Staff Officer for Archaeology (SOA) within the Civil Administration (ICA), Benny Har-Even\u00a0who attended the session, described the current situation\u00a0as \u201cterrorism against antiquities and Jewish history.\u201d He argued that the proposed new authority must be empowered to protect archaeological sites.<\/p>\n

Emek Shaveh\u2019s ED, Alon Arad, who is recovering from an accident in hospital, requested to speak via zoom but was refused.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This was the second committee hearing following the\u00a0preliminary vote in July<\/a>\u00a0as the bill advances to its first reading in the Knesset.<\/p>\n

Emek Shaveh:\u00a0<\/strong>The discussion made it clear that the bill is not aimed at protecting antiquities in the West Bank but solely at extending Israeli law to the occupied territories\u2014essentially, annexation. Amit Halevi is advancing a destructive law, and the coalition is following him blindly, disregarding the firm opposition by\u00a0professionals.<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

Also last week, the \u201cFirst International Conference on Archaeology and Site Conservation of Judea and Samaria<\/a>\u201d took place at the\u00a0Dan Hotel in Jerusalem. As mentioned in our\u00a0previous update<\/a>, it was sponsored by the Civil Administration\u2019s Staff Officer for Archaeology (SOA) and the Ministry of Heritage, and featured scholars from major Israeli universities and international academic institutions.<\/p>\n

The conference organisers asserted the event was not political. However, if academic excavations in the West Bank are truly apolitical, why did the SOA refuse to disclose the names of archaeologists conducting excavations in the region? In 2019, following a Freedom of Information request submitted by Emek Shaveh and Yesh Din, the High Court\u00a0upheld the SOA\u2019s request<\/a>\u00a0to keep the names concealed, citing concerns that archaeologists might face a potential boycott. How does this stance align with the claim that archaeology in the West Bank is not a political issue?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Last week, we shared an open letter\u00a0<\/a>from Professor Raphael (Rafi)\u00a0Greenberg, Chair of our Board and a professor of archaeology at Tel Aviv University. During the conference, the\u00a0London based Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF) \u2014the oldest institution involved in the study of archaeology in the region\u2014issued a\u00a0statement<\/a>\u00a0criticising the conference:\u00a0\u201cGiven the concerning news of increased, often violent settler activity in the area, and the intention to expand the Israel Antiquities Authority\u2019s jurisdiction to include the West Bank, this conference normalises academic activities which are in breach of international law,\u201d the statement read. The Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Tourism also issued a\u00a0statement\u00a0<\/a>condemning the conference.<\/p>\n

Under international law, cultural heritage in a territory under military occupation is classified as protected property belonging to the occupied population.\u00a0As such, archaeological activity in these areas must\u00a0benefit \u00a0the local population. Academic excavations, which do not fulfil this requirement, are therefore prohibited.<\/p>\n

The conference, was an attempt in our opinion to whitewash Israeli archaeological activities in the West Bank.\u00a0While several archaeologists at the event had voiced opposition to the above-mentioned\u00a0proposed legislation to extend the \u00a0Israel Antiquities Authority’s\u00a0jurisdiction into the West Bank, we see this conference as part of a broader effort that includes the proposed bill.\u00a0It comes on the heels of a\u00a0wider campaign<\/a>, led by settlers and right-wing Knesset members aimed at extending Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank through the ruse\u00a0of heritage and archaeology.<\/p>\n

\n

Expansion of Settler Activity is Destroying\u00a0UNESCO World Heritage Site Near Battir<\/strong><\/p>\n

On February 6, 2025, approximately twelve new mobile homes were installed at an outpost near Battir, located within the core zone of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Land of Olives and Vines \u2013 Cultural Landscape of Southern Jerusalem, Battir<\/a>.” Five days later, the Israeli government’s naming committee officially renamed the settlement from \u201cHeletz\u201d to \u201cBar Kokhva\u201d and subsumed it under\u00a0the Gush Etzion Regional Council.<\/p>\n

The “Land of Olives and Vines” was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 2014 for its unique cultural and agricultural landscape, characterized by ancient terraces and sophisticated irrigation systems that have been maintained by local Palestinian communities for hundreds of years. Recent\u00a0developments<\/a>, including the establishment of the Battir settler outpost in December 2023 and ongoing expansion,\u00a0involve extensive destruction of ancient agricultural terraces, uprooting of trees and the expulsion of Palestinians from private land and water sources. In recent weeks, the outpost has expanded involving the paving of new roads and laying infrastructure for the arrival of new families, thus laying the ground for the expansion of the outpost into a settlement. The settlement, was approved\u00a0in a cabinet decision in June as part of the\u00a0legalisation of five isolated outposts<\/a>\u00a0and underwent a blueline mapping\u00a0designating<\/a>\u00a0600 dunam.\u00a0This encroachment not only violates the basic\u00a0\u00a0human rights of the Palestinian communities who have been cultivating the terraces of the World Heritage Site for generations but is a direct attack on the\u00a0living cultural landscape\u00a0which qualified the\u00a0Land of Olives and Vines<\/em>\u00a0as a UNESCO heritage site to begin with.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

New mobile homes on Battir outpost (now called Bar Kokhva) (photo from “Neve\u00a0Ori Farm”\u00a0Facebook page)<\/p><\/div>\n

The new settlement is\u00a0part of a broader strategy to disrupt Palestinian territorial continuity\u00a0west of Bethlehem. These actions not only fragment Palestinian space but also violate the 1972 Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage to which Israel is a signatory.<\/p>\n

These developments join previous projects, such as the expansion of Road 60 in Beit Jala and plans to enlarge the Har Gilo settlement, further endangering the integrity of the World Heritage Site. For more about destruction of the World Heritage Site and plans for the settlement see\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

Emek Shaveh Condemns Legislative Assault on Civil Society and Human Rights in Israel<\/strong><\/p>\n

We join our colleagues in the Israeli human rights community in strongly opposing two draconian bills that passed a preliminary vote in the Knesset this week. These bills represent an unprecedented assault on civil society, aiming to silence dissent, criminalise transparency, and curtail the ability of organizations to challenge government actions in court.<\/p>\n

The first bill seeks to prohibit public authorities and bodies from cooperating with the International Criminal Court (ICC) and\u00a0criminalise\u00a0individuals who provide the International Criminal Court\u00a0with information or services, imposing penalties of up to five years in prison (Proposed Law: Protection of Israeli Public Officials from the Action of the International Criminal Court in The Hague against the State of Israel). According to the proposed law, disclosure of so-called “classified information” could carry a life sentence.<\/p>\n

The second bill, spearheaded by MK Ariel Kellner, would impose an 80% tax on foreign government donations to NGOs and deny judicial access to organisations whose primary funding comes from foreign state entities. This legislation is a calculated effort to dismantle Israel\u2019s human rights sector and prevent scrutiny of government policies, particularly in the occupied territories.<\/p>\n

These legislative measures threaten those who seek to uphold justice and human rights. Now, more than ever, the international community must take a clear and unequivocal stand. We call on foreign governments, international institutions, and all those who value democracy and human rights\u00a0to publicly reject these bills and make clear that Israel cannot erode fundamental rights while continuing to benefit from international partnerships.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In face of IAA\u2019s opposition MK Amit Halevi promotes the establishment of a new body to oversee West Bank archaeology \u00a0Download as a PDF In response to the Israel Antiquities Authority\u2019s (IAA) objection to the bill to extend its\u00a0jurisdiction into the West Bank, MK Amit Halevi (Likud) has proposed establishing a new administrative body to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2058,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"class_list":["post-2057","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-media"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIn face of IAA\u2019s opposition MK Amit Halevi promotes the establishment of a new body to oversee West Bank archaeology - Emek Shaveh<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/new-body-wbank-archaeology\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"In face of IAA\u2019s opposition MK Amit Halevi promotes the establishment of a new body to oversee West Bank archaeology - 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