Gaza to be included in bill tasking new body with managing West Bank antiquities, which IDF opposes

The Knesset Education, Culture and Sports Committee includes Gaza in the scope of a controversial bill seeking to extend Israeli civilian control over antiquities in the West Bank, as it prepares the bill for its final votes in the plenum before becoming law.

If the bill passes, according to many, it will be a step in the de facto annexation of the territory.

The bill passed its first reading in the plenum last week, and the committee has been racing to allow the bill to be voted into law before the expected proceedings to dissolve the Knesset begin tomorrow. The committee is expected to vote on the bill tomorrow, sending it to the plenum. It is not clear yet whether there will be time for the plenum to approve it.

The version of the bill advanced in the plenum last week aimed to create a “Judea and Samaria Heritage Authority,” using the West Bank’s biblical name.

The bill’s sponsor, MK Amit Halevi (Likud), requests to also include the Gaza Strip. Committee legal adviser Tami Sela says that the authority’s name (as well as the name of the bill) will be amended to reflect the change.

A representative of the Israel Defense Forces states that the army opposes the bill as it explicitly asserts that its provisions will override military legislation.

“This is a law that overrides the powers of the general in the region, and we oppose the wording of this section,” says Major Marta Kramenko of the office of the Legal Adviser for Judea and Samaria. “This is the position of the IDF.”

If approved in its current form, the bill will change the decades-long status quo in the West Bank by establishing a civilian body to assume responsibilities currently held by the Defense Ministry, and directly affecting the Palestinians living there.

The new Heritage Authority would also be given the power to operate in parts of the West Bank governed by the Palestinian Authority.

Critics of the bill say that it represents an unprecedented step toward annexation. During the committee hearing, supporters of the bill also say that the legislation is about extending Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank and Gaza.

“In my opinion, it is a terrible disgrace that the State of Israel has not applied Israeli law in Judea and Samaria for so many years,” Committee Chair MK Zvi Sukkot (Religious Zionism) says.

“We are truly proud to be the legislators who work on the first piece of legislation in the Knesset that recognizes Israeli law in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip,” he adds.