JULY 21, 2026
Israelis and Palestinians contest land, heritage, and governance at the ancient West Bank site of Sebastia
Israel has moved to seize roughly 500 acres of privately owned Palestinian land around the town of Sebastia in the occupied West Bank, allocating $10 million to develop the site into a tourist attraction. The Palestinian Authority is simultaneously pursuing urgent UNESCO World Heritage recognition for Sebastia, a bid under debate this month in South Korea. Sebastia's archaeological mound sits in Area C of the West Bank under full Israeli civil and security control, while the adjacent Palestinian town sits in Area B under mixed jurisdiction.
Sebastia, a small Palestinian hamlet north of Nablus, sits atop one of the most layered archaeological sites in the Middle East, with a history extending at least 3,000 years. Archaeologists identify it as ancient Samaria, capital of the biblical Kingdom of Israel. Herod the Great later rebuilt and renamed it, adding monumental structures — a Roman theater, an ancient palace, weathered columns — that survived through Byzantine, Arab, and Crusader periods. Local tradition also places it as the burial site of John the Baptist.
The site's division under the Oslo Accords has become a central point of tension. The archaeological mound lies in Area C, under full Israeli civil and security control, while the adjacent Palestinian town and its tourism infrastructure occupy Area B. Residents say they have already been barred from basic preservation work on ruins on the Israeli-controlled side and fear the latest land seizure could sever their access altogether. "If we cannot access them, the whole economic circle of Sebastia will be destroyed," said Zaid Azhari, a local tourism developer and leader of the "Save Sebastia" campaign.
The Israeli government's actions at Sebastia are part of a broader program. Since 2023, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has invested more than 250 million shekels (approximately $82 million) in West Bank archaeological sites through a program called "Road, Land, Heritage," overseen by Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party. The program focuses on sites with Jewish historical significance — among them Hebron's Cave of the Patriarchs and Herodium — while Islamic and Christian heritage sites in the same areas are largely excluded, according to CNN's reporting. Netanyahu said in May, "We are investing in preserving our past to secure our future." Eliyahu framed the effort as a rescue of sites he said had suffered from decades of Palestinian looting and damage, and stated: "I am not willing to have the story of the Jewish people destroyed, dismantled, or erased."