Israel has allocated $37 million to develop more than 70 alleged Jewish heritage sites across the occupied West Bank.
Key Developments
- Israel approved $37 million to develop more than 70 alleged Jewish heritage sites in the occupied West Bank.
- The move follows legislation aimed at creating a “Judea and Samaria Heritage Authority.”
- The proposed authority would oversee archaeological sites and facilitate land acquisition linked to them.
- The announcement comes amid continued expansion of illegal settlements despite international legal rulings.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced on Tuesday that the government will allocate 113 million shekels ($37 million) to develop more than 70 alleged Jewish heritage sites across the occupied West Bank, in the latest move accompanying Israel’s accelerating settlement expansion.
Announcing the decision on X, Smotrich said the funding represented the first government program of its kind.
“For the first time in history, 113 million shekels will be allocated to develop more than 70 heritage sites in Judea and Samaria,” he wrote, using Israel’s biblical designation for the occupied West Bank.
Smotrich did not identify the sites that will receive funding.
Heritage Authority
The announcement follows the Israeli Knesset’s approval in May of the first reading of legislation establishing the so-called “Judea and Samaria Heritage Authority.”
The proposed body would place Roman, Byzantine and Crusader-era archaeological sites in the occupied West Bank under the authority of Israel’s Heritage Ministry.
The legislation also authorizes the confiscation and purchase of property connected to those sites.
The Palestinian Authority has warned that the measure is intended to deepen Israeli control over occupied Palestinian territory while facilitating further settlement expansion under the guise of heritage preservation.
Settlement Expansion
According to Smotrich, Israel has approved 104 illegal settlements and 160 settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government took office in late 2022.
Palestinian figures estimate that around 750,000 Israeli settlers now live in 156 illegal settlements and 360 settlement outposts across the occupied West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem.
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International Law
The latest funding announcement comes despite repeated international legal findings that Israeli settlements violate international law.
UN Security Council Resolution 2334, adopted in 2016, states that Israeli settlements established in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, have “no legal validity” and constitute “a flagrant violation under international law.”
In July 2024, the International Court of Justice issued a landmark advisory opinion declaring Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories illegal and calling for the evacuation of all settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
(Anadolu, PC)
