A Palestinian visitor takes a photo at the historical site in the West Bank town of Sebastia. AP
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.
Peace Now, an anti-settlement watchdog group, said the site is around 1,800 dunams (450 acres) — Israel's largest seizure of archaeologically important land.
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 AP, said the popular archeological site, where thousands of olive trees grow, belongs to the Palestinians.
Israel announced plans to develop the site into a tourist attraction in 2023. Excavations have already begun and the government has allocated more than 30 million shekels ($9.24 million) to develop the site, according to Peace Now and another rights group.
The largest parcel of historical land previously seized by Israel was 286 dunams (70 acres) in Susya, a village in the south of the West Bank, Peace Now said.
Settlers inaugurate new illegal colony
The move came as Israeli settlers celebrated the creation of a new, illegal settlement near Bethlehem.
Israeli settlers said they established a new unauthorized outpost close to Bethlehem. The chairman of the local Etzion settler council, Yaron Rosenthal, said that the new community would “strengthen the connection" between Etzion and occupied Jerusalem.
Hagit Ofran, the director of Peace Now’s settlement watch program, said the outpost is on land that used to be an Israeli army base. Photos that settlers shared online show temporary homes at the site and bulldozers at work.
Israel occupied the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza in the 1967 war. It has settled over 500,000 Jews in the West Bank in illegal settlements, in addition to over 200,000 more in east Jerusalem.
All Israeli settlements in these occupied Palestinian territories are illegal under international law. "All settlement activity is illegal under international law. It must stop," United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.
Expanding Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories constitutes "
a war crime" and risks eliminating "any practical possibility" of a viable Palestinian state, the United Nations had said.
Israel committed war crimes in the West Bank
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.
HRW said top Israeli officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz should be investigated for war crimes. In a report published Thursday, the group said the Israeli military forcibly expelled 32,000 Palestinians from three West Bank refugee camps this year. The UN says this figures reached nearly 40,000 now.
Israel’s army raids on refugee camps in the north of the West Bank in January and February amounted to the largest displacement in the territory since Israel captured it in 1967, Human Rights Watch said.
The report was based on interviews with 31 Palestinians displaced from Tulkarem, Nur Shams and Jenin refugee camps.
Israel has said its troops will stay in some camps for a year, and will not allow Palestinians to return. Thousands of displaced Palestinians are living with relatives cramming into rental apartments, or living in public buildings.
Human Rights Watch said it analyzed satellite images and concluded that more than 850 homes and buildings were destroyed or heavily damaged.
The organization added that the Israeli authorities didn’t explain why they had to remove everyone from the camps nor why they haven’t been allowed to return.
The report said the occupation army shot at residents who attempted to reenter the camps, and that it has not provided shelter or humanitarian assistance to the displaced.
“With global attention focused on Gaza, Israeli forces have carried out war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing in the West Bank that should be investigated and prosecuted,” said Nadia Hardman, senior refugee and migrant rights researcher at Human Rights Watch.
The camps resemble dense, urban slums and are home to millions of Palestinians. Human Rights Watch said it analyzed satellite imagery of the camps and found more than 850 homes and buildings have been destroyed or heavily damaged.
* This story was edited by Ahram Online.
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