Israel intends to take swaths of major archaeological site

Israel plans to seize parts of a major West Bank historic site, according to a government document, and settlers put up anew outpost overnight, even as the country faces pressure to crack down on settler violence in the Palestinian territory.

- By JULIA FRANKEL

Israel's Civil Administration announced its intention to expropriate large swaths of Sebastia, a major archaeological site in the West Bank, in the document obtained by the Associated Press on Thursday. Peace Now, an anti-settlement watchdog group, said the site is about 450 acres — making this Israel’s largest seizure of archaeologically important land.

The move came as Israeli settlers celebrated the creation of a new, unauthorized settlement near Bethlehem, and a Palestinian lawyer said a West Bank activist had been detained and hospitalized.

Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch said Israel may have committed war crimes when it forcibly expelled 32,000 Palestinians from three West Bank refugee camps this year.

The Israeli order released Nov. 12 lists parcels of land it intends to seize in the Sebastia area. Peace Now, which provided the document to the AP, said the popular archaeological site, where thousands of olive trees grow, belongs to the Palestinians.

The capital of the ancient Israelite kingdom Samaria is thought to be beneath the ruins of Sebastia, and Christians and Muslims believe it’s where John the Baptist was buried.

Israel announced plans to develop the site into a tourist attraction in 2023. Excavations have begun and the government has allocated more than $9.24 million to develop the site, according to Peace Now and another rights group.

The order gives Palestinians 14 days to object to the declaration.

Settlers inaugurate new illegal outpost

Israeli settlers said they established a new unauthorized outpost close to Bethlehem.

The chairman of the local Etzion settler council, Yaron Rosenthal, welcomed the settlement as a “return to the city of our matriarch Rachel, of King David.” Rosenthal said the new community would “strengthen the connection” between Etzion and Jerusalem.