{"id":2139,"date":"2026-05-11T05:37:44","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T05:37:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/?p=2139"},"modified":"2026-05-13T05:41:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T05:41:25","slug":"new-heritage-autority","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/new-heritage-autority\/","title":{"rendered":"ALERT: New Civilian Authority to Govern Antiquities in the West Bank"},"content":{"rendered":"

Legislation to Establish a\u00a0Civilian Authority to Govern Antiquities in the West Bank Passes First Vote<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yesterday, May 11, 2026, during the opening of the final session of the 25th Knesset, the\u00a0“Heritage Authority in Judea and Samaria Bill” was submitted for a first reading in the Knesset plenum. Following a discussion late into the night, it passed (23 to 14). The fact that the bill was placed on the agenda at the last-minute suggests a calculated move to secure sectorial achievements for the settler movement and the ultra nationalists in the Knesset, as part of their election campaign.<\/p>\n

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. Its approval would carry severe consequences for Israel\u2019s international standing,\u00a0specifically in the field of\u00a0\u00a0archaeological scholarship.<\/p>\n

This was the first of three votes needed to pass the legislation into law. In February, the bill\u00a0passed the Knesset’s Education and Sports Committee<\/a>\u00a0chaired by MK Zvi Sukkot\u00a0following nearly two years of deliberations. The bill paves the way for the establishment of a civilian Israeli statutory authority under the Ministry of Heritage to govern antiquities sites in the West Bank. \u00a0In essence, the bill assigns responsibility to the State of Israel for antiquities and heritage sites in the West Bank, replacing the Civil Administration\u2019s Staff Officer for Archaeology unit with a civilian body in a move that constitutes annexation.<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to the law, the jurisdiction of the new heritage body would include territories for which the SOA claims responsibility today following two cabinet decisions (in\u00a02024<\/a>\u00a0and in\u00a02026<\/a>) which authorize the SOA to supervise and take enforcement measures at antiquity sites in Areas B and A, in addition to C, effectively dismantling the framework established under the Oslo II Accords.<\/p>\n

MK Halevi (Likud) who initiated the bill and the Minister of Heritage, Amihai Eliyahu (Jewish Power), have made it clear throughout the discussions that the objective of the law is to apply Israeli sovereignty. The first draft of the bill clearly stated its objective:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe<\/em>\u00a0purpose of the law is to establish the direct responsibility of the State of Israel for the management of antiquities and heritage and archaeological sites in Judea and Samaria, and for the enforcement of legislative provisions intended to prevent and reduce harm to them, including the protection, conservation, development, accessibility, and salvage of antiquities and sites, taking into account the unique characteristics of these sites in Judea and Samaria.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

prior to the vote late last night MK Amit Halevi (Likud) said:
\n\u201cWhat is this war about? Why are our children shedding blood in Gaza and Lebanon, in Syria? Why are our pilots risking their lives in Iran, over Tehran, over Shiraz, over all these places?…This war is about our identity, about our culture. It is about God.\u00a0It is about our deep belonging to this land.\u00a0The fact that this land is an essential part of our identity, our heritage, our history. That is why victory in this war must include both of these levels: the physical level – absolute physical victory –\u00a0but secondly, cultural victory over civilization.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

In response Gilad Kariv (The Democrats) said:
\n“A people that turns its past into a tool for life in the present devoid of justice, morality, and the pursuit of peace is a people that loses its future. And you, with your vision of annexation, are condemning the State of Israel to a future of moral disgrace and security disaster.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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Key Concerns<\/u><\/strong>:<\/strong><\/p>\n