'Violation of history'

Uproar at West Bank land grab

- Jason Burke Sufian Taha Sebastia

The Byzantine-era church lies half hidden in the shade. Roman columns rise from among the olive trees; even older ruins linked to Israelite kings are overgrown. To the west, the Mediterranean is just visible on the horizon. To the north and south are the hills of the occupied West Bank.

In the village of Sebastia, a hundred metres or less east of the ruins, everyone is very worried.

In November, Muhammad Azem, the mayor of Sebastia, received a notice from Israeli authorities announcing the seizure of the sprawling hilltop archaeological site next to the village.

Though there have been reports of an Israeli government project to develop the site for several years, the notice came as a shock. Most of the 3,500 Palestinian residents depend on either tourism at the site or olive trees for their livelihoods.

The plans for development include a visitors’ centre, a car park and a fence that will cut the ruins off from the rest of the village.

"Unfortunately Sebastia has gone into a dark tunnel," said Azem, 50. "It is an aggression against Palestinian landowners, against olive trees, against tourist sites and it is a violation of the history and heritage of Palestine."

The expropriation of 182 hectares (450 acres) at Sebastia is the largest ever seizure of land for an archaeological project since Israel occupied the West Bank after its victory against Syria, Egypt and their Arab allies in 1967.