DaysofPal- The Israeli occupation issued a decision to confiscate 63 Palestinian archaeological sites in the occupied West Bank, including 59 sites in Nablus Governorate, one site in Salfit, and three sites in Ramallah and Al-Bireh.
The decision’s annexes included the original Palestinian names of the sites alongside their Hebrew names, in an attempt to legitimize the seizure of Palestinian heritage.
Mohammad Jaradat, Deputy Director-General of the National Archaeological Registry at the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, stated that the Israeli occupation claims the confiscated sites represent “Israeli heritage.”
The newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed quoted Jaradat as saying that targeting Nablus’ antiquities in this way is related to its strategic geographic location:
“Nablus is the gateway and center of the Palestinian north; when they close Nablus, they close the entire north.” He added.
Moreover, he noted that the Israeli occupation uses the presence of the Samaritan community on Mount Gerizim as a pretext to support its claims of Jewish presence in the area, despite the Samaritan faith being fundamentally different from the official Judaism relied upon by the occupation.
Dr. Dirgham Al-Fares, Director-General of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities Office in Nablus, explained that the decision is part of a comprehensive policy to annex and Judaize the West Bank, denying any connection to the protection of archaeological sites.
He stated:”The Israeli occupation uses Judaism as a pretext for confiscation and arbitrary redrawing of Palestinian areas under the claim that they are antiquities, while the truth is that Judaism, like Christianity and Islam, is part of all our shared history.”
Al-Fares confirmed that the danger does not lie in distorting history, as many archaeological studies, even those published by Tel Aviv University, refute the occupation’s claims. The direct impact of the decision includes preventing Palestinians from working in or restoring archaeological sites, destroying sites through the establishment of illegal settlement outposts, and constructing settler roads through archaeological areas that are supposed to be protected.
He described what is happening as a dangerous phase of stealing Palestinian cultural heritage, amid a belief among Israeli religious and political authorities that Nablus is the “capital of Jewish heritage,” a claim that has also been refuted by Israeli institutions.
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