New draft law seeks to extend Israeli control over antiquities in Palestinian areas

Israel is preparing a revised draft law aimed at expanding its control over antiquities and heritage sites in the occupied West Bank, including areas under Palestinian civil authority, Hebrew media outlets reported.

According to Israeli reports, the latest version of the draft law was uploaded to the Knesset website last Wednesday ahead of planned discussions. The proposal would extend Israeli authority over antiquities in Areas A and B of the West Bank, where the Palestinian Authority exercises civil control.

The draft includes dozens of notes and observations indicating that several clauses still require clarification or further definition before the bill can be submitted to a Knesset committee for a vote.

One of the annotations notes that the bill’s main sponsor, Likud member of parliament Amit Halevi, has requested that the legislation also be applied to the Gaza Strip.

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The original version of the bill, first introduced in 2023, proposed transferring responsibility for antiquities in the occupied West Bank to the Israel Antiquities Authority, which currently oversees archaeological sites in territories occupied by Israel in 1948.

According to the Hebrew-language newspaper The Times of Israel, the revised proposal has drawn widespread criticism from Israeli professional archaeologists. Many have accused the ruling right-wing coalition of attempting to impose de facto annexation through control of antiquities and heritage management.

Under the Oslo Accords, Israeli involvement in antiquities in the West Bank is formally limited to Area C, which makes up around 60 per cent of the territory and remains under full Israeli civil and military control. Areas A and B are designated for Palestinian civil administration, with the Palestinian Authority also responsible for security in Area A.

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