![A view of the archaeological site in Sebastia, which dates back 5 thousand years in Nablus, West Bank on July 30, 2023. [Issam Rimawi - Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/AA-20230802-31822858-31822856-PALESTINIANS_DEMAND_UNESCO_TO_PROTECT_SEBASTIA.jpg?fit=920%2C613&ssl=1)
A Palestinian official said on Tuesday that Israel plans to take 4,600 dunams of land belonging to the towns of Sebastia and Burqa in Nablus governorate in the northern West Bank, claiming it is to protect archaeological sites.
The announcement came in a statement by Muayyad Shaban, head of the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Shaban said that “the occupation authorities intend to take 4,600 dunams of land from the towns of Sebastia and Burqa, north of Nablus”.
He explained that the decision “targets the land where an archaeological area is located”.
He explained that the decision “targets the land where an archaeological area is located”.
According to figures from the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism, the archaeological area in Sebastia dates back to the Bronze Age (3200 BC).
Sebastia lies on the main road between Nablus and Jenin, on a hilltop within a mountain range. Its total area is around 4,777 dunams, according to official information published by the Applied Research Institute (ARIJ).
Sebastia lies on the main road between Nablus and Jenin, on a hilltop within a mountain range. Its total area is around 4,777 dunams, according to official information published by the Applied Research Institute (ARIJ).
Sebastia contains archaeological remains from Arab, Canaanite, Roman, Byzantine, Phoenician and Islamic periods.
Shaban added that “this decision represents a serious escalation and comes as part of continuing legislative and legal moves through which the occupying state is seeking to impose actual annexation of the West Bank under the cover of protecting archaeological sites.”
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