A Battle for Sebastia’s Soul: Who Controls History and Land in the West Bank?
Sandego.net – Perched atop a distant hill north of Nablus, Sebastia commands sweeping vistas across the occupied Palestinian territories. The landscape reveals a complex tapestry of Israeli settlements, Arab villages, and the network of roads and checkpoints that both unite and separate these communities. Beneath the olive trees below, millennia of civilization rest in quiet repose: crumbling palace foundations, a Roman amphitheater, and ancient columns that have witnessed the rise and fall of countless empires. This archaeological treasure has become an unexpected battleground where Israeli and Palestinian powers clash over ownership of both territory and historical narrative.
Two Sides, One Site: Competing Claims Emerge
Over the last twelve months, Israeli authorities have initiated the acquisition of approximately five hundred acres of Palestinian-owned property surrounding Sebastia, a modest Palestinian settlement renowned for its archaeological significance. Concurrently, Jerusalem has committed ten million dollars toward transforming the location into a premier tourist destination. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority has launched an urgent campaign to secure UNESCO World Heritage status for Sebastia, with international deliberations currently underway in South Korea.
Both nations maintain that the land and its storied past rightfully belong to them. Archaeological evidence traces Sebastia’s origins back three millennia or more, with scholars identifying the location as ancient Samaria, the historic capital of the biblical Kingdom of Israel. Following this period, Herod the Great reconstructed the city, bestowing upon it the name Sebastia and erecting monumental buildings that endured through Roman, Byzantine, Arab, and Crusader eras. Local tradition in the neighboring settlement also designates Sebastia as the final resting place of John the Baptist.
Geography Divides: Area B Meets Area C
The archaeological mound occupies Area C of the West Bank, placing it under complete Israeli civil and security administration according to the Oslo Accords. The adjacent town and its tourism facilities, however, reside in Area B, where Palestinian and Israeli jurisdictions overlap. This geographical division increasingly troubles local residents whose livelihoods depend heavily on agricultural production and visitor tourism.
Community members report being prohibited from conducting essential restoration activities on ruins located within the Israeli-controlled zone. They worry that recent land confiscation may permanently cut off their access to these historically significant locations.
For us, this is our heart and our memory at the same time. With this expropriation order, it means we are losing our heart – losing access to our land and to the site. I cannot imagine Sebastia without the archaeological site. It’s like your children – you cannot leave one of them.
Zaid Azhari, a local tourism entrepreneur and prominent figure in the Save Sebastia movement, explained these concerns to CNN. He noted that ongoing tensions with soldiers and settlers have complicated everyday existence for years, warning that the confiscation could devastate the town’s economic foundation spanning tourism and olive cultivation.
If we cannot access them, the whole economic circle of Sebastia will be destroyed.
A Broader National Strategy Takes Shape
Sebastia represents merely one component of a larger governmental initiative. Since 2023, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing administration has channeled more than 250 million shekels, equivalent to roughly eighty-two million dollars, into West Bank archaeological locations through the Road, Land, Heritage program. This initiative, managed by Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu of the Otzma Yehudit party, prioritizes sites connected to Jewish history, including Hebron’s Cave of the Patriarchs and Herodium, Herod’s desert fortress. Islamic and Christian heritage locations within these same regions receive comparatively less attention.
Almost every stone and heritage site contains thousands of years of Jewish history. We are investing in preserving our past to secure our future.
Eliyahu has advocated establishing a West Bank Heritage Authority that would transfer archaeological oversight from the military’s Civil Administration to his ministry. Israeli government sources indicated that Netanyahu paused this legislative proposal due to anticipated international criticism. The minister characterizes his efforts as rescuing neglected heritage sites that have endured decades of Palestinian looting and deterioration.
I am not willing to have the story of the Jewish people destroyed, dismantled, or erased.
Eliyahu, who previously suggested a nuclear option against Gaza in 2023, continues to frame his work as restoring what he considers the authentic narrative of Sebastia and other West Bank archaeological locations, ensuring that Jewish historical connections remain visible and protected for generations to come.
