Israel Antiquities Authority rejects bid to put it in charge of West Bank antiquities

The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) has rejected the idea of receiving responsibility for antiquities in the West Bank as proposed in a bill introduced by Likud MK Amit Halevi. As a result, Halevi has presented an amendment to the bill to establish a new body under the authority of the Heritage Ministry to fulfill this purpose.

“The aim of this law is giving the State of Israel direct responsibility over the antiquities in the West Bank and creating the entity that will take care of it practically, in light of the concerns expressed by the Antiquities Authority,” Halevi said during a meeting of the Knesset Education, Culture and Sports Committee on Tuesday.

“I would have been happy to task the Antiquities Authority with this responsibility, but in light of their opposition, this is the solution we found,” he added.

The authority for managing archaeological sites and preserving relics in the West Bank currently resides with the archaeology unit in the Civil Administration, Israel’s governing body in the territory, which is headed by a military office.

The bill presented by Halevi aimed to alter this arrangement and bring in the civilian IAA.

However, the IAA said in a statement to the committee that the proposed law “could cause significant damage to the academic ties of the Israel Antiquities Authority and the State of Israel with international bodies and damage its professional reputation.”

The responsibility over the archaeological sites in the West Bank has been a hotly contested issue for decades.

According to the Civil Administration’s Archaeology Unit website, the area contains over 2,600 archaeological sites spanning various historical periods and cultural influences, including Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and pre-biblical civilizations.

Some of the sites also happen to be among the most significant in Jewish history, such as the Qumran Caves, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, the capital of the Kingdom of Israel Sebastia, and Shiloh, the most important religious center before the Temple of Jerusalem was built, as well as several Hasmonean fortresses.

Many sites have been subject to constant looting, damage and neglect, as often denounced by right-wing organizations, as well as many archaeologists.

At the same time, Palestinians and Israeli human rights groups have repeatedly accused Israel of using archaeology as a political tool, often employed to seize land from the local Palestinian population or to disconnect them from universal cultural heritage.

During the committee meeting, IAA Chief Scientist Dr. Gideon Avni acknowledged the poor status of the antiquities in the West Bank due to neglect and damage. Still, he argued that transferring the responsibility for the sites to the IAA would not help because the Staff Officer for Archaeology is more effective than what the authority could be.

“The IAA has been working in cooperation with the Civil Administration’s Archaeology Unit for years, and if the Staff Officer for Archaeology were under the IAA, his power would be diminished,” Avni said.

Staff Officer for Archeology, Benny Har Even, also attended the meeting and warned that the bill could backfire.

“The most important thing is to protect our antiquities,” he said. “We should discuss the powers that this directorate needs to be given so that it can perform the most important work in the most challenging region.”

Har Even described the situation of the archaeological sites in the West Bank as “a terrorist attack against antiquities and Jewish history.”

“The decision [regarding what to do] has to be made in full coordination with the IDF, which gives us the ability in the field to reach these antiquities without dangers,” he noted. “I’m afraid we’ll shoot ourselves in the foot.”

The representatives of the Justice Ministry also expressed reservations about the bill, warning against possible claims of a de facto annexation that would raise alarm with the international community.

“The legislation is inconsistent with the long-standing policy of the State of Israel and presents sensitivities at the international level,” said Natalie Assaf from the Justice Ministry. “To this day, Israel has chosen to manage the Judea and Samaria in this manner [through the Civil Administration], and therefore, the bill can strengthen claims regarding annexation [of the West Bank].”

Halevi, however, was not deterred.

“The Israeli law on antiquities will be applied in Judea and Samaria, period,” he said, using the biblical name for the West Bank. “This is the position of the government, this is the position of the majority in the Knesset, and this is what will happen, I hope, during the current [Knesset] term.”

Charlie Summers contributed to this report.