Sebastia’s Ancient Ruins Face israeli Seizure, sparking Fears of Displacement and Cultural Erasure
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A sweeping israeli land seizure threatens the future of Sebastia, a historic Palestinian town in the occupied West Bank, and its sprawling archaeological site, raising concerns about cultural heritage, land rights, and the expansion of settlements.
The small town of Sebastia is bracing for a dramatic shift following a November notice from Israeli authorities announcing the expropriation of 182 hectares (450 acres) of land encompassing the hilltop archaeological site adjacent too the town. The move, the largest of its kind for an archaeological project since Israel’s occupation of the West Bank in 1967, has ignited fears among the 3,500 Palestinian residents who depend on the site’s tourism and surrounding olive groves for their livelihoods.
A History etched in Stone
Sebastia’s layered past is visible in its ruins – a Byzantine-era church half-hidden in the shade, Roman columns rising among olive trees, and even older remnants linked to Israelite kings. To the west, the Mediterranean Sea is visible on the horizon, while the hills of the occupied West Bank frame the town to the north and south. This complex history, spanning millennia under Byzantine, Islamic, Crusader, ottoman, and British rule, is now at the center of a contentious dispute.
The current plans involve constructing a visitors’ center, a car park, and erecting a fence that will physically separate the ruins from the town, effectively cutting off residents from both the historical site and their remaining olive orchards.”Regrettably Sebastia has gone into a dark tunnel,” saeid Mahmud Azem, the town’s mayor, describing the situation as “an aggression against Palestinian landowners, against olive trees, against tourist sites and it is a violation of the history and the heritage of Palestine.”
A Pretext for Expansion
leaders of the settlement movement accuse the Palestinian Authority and local representatives of attempting to erase the site’s Jewish historical connections. Israel now commonly refers to the occupied West Bank as Judaea in the south and Samaria (or Shomron in Hebrew) in the north, reflecting its biblical associations.
However, Wala’a ghazal, curator of a museum housed within a 13th-century mosque – itself built upon the foundations of a Crusader cathedral and a Byzantine church – argues against focusing solely on one historical period. “There has been continual habitation… It is indeed not right just to focus on one or other period. Samaria happened in the iron age but there were people living here before then,” she explained.
Echoes of Dispossession in Jerusalem
The situation in Sebastia mirrors concerns surrounding other Israeli government-backed archaeological projects in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which have been criticized for prioritizing ideology over genuine archaeological research.The City of David Foundation, an Israeli government-funded archaeological park in Jerusalem, run by the settler group Elad, has been accused of displacing Palestinian families through property acquisition and legal maneuvers. an EU report in 2018 found that Elad’s projects were being used “as a political tool to modify the historical narrative and to support, legitimise and expand settlements.”
International Law and UNESCO Recognition
International law prohibits an occupying force from interfering with archaeological sites. Sebastia has been on UNESCO’s tentative list of world heritage sites for the state of Palestine since 2012, highlighting its cultural significance.
Despite a recent decline in tourism following the outbreak of war in Gaza in October 2023, residents had previously hoped for a return to the hundreds of daily visitors. However, Mahmud Ghazal, whose home and business are directly in the path of the planned fence, is deeply pessimistic.”This [progress plan] will destroy Sebastia. They will take everything from us,” he said, reflecting the widespread anxiety gripping the town.
