From the Liveblog of
Monday, May 25, 2026
Knesset committee postpones vote on controversial West Bank and Gaza antiquities bill
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleRossella Tercatin is The Times of Israel's archaeology and religions reporter.
The Knesset Education, Culture and Sports Committee cancels a meeting set for this morning that was supposed to finish preparing a controversial bill on West Bank and Gaza antiquities for its final votes in the plenum.
The proposal has been described by many as an unprecedented step towards annexation.
A new meeting to continue the discussion on the bill is set for tomorrow. A spokesperson for the committee tells The Times of Israel that it will not include a committee vote on the bill, which is necessary to advance it to the plenum, since the draft requires further examination. A new date for a vote will be set at a later stage.
If passed into law, the bill would establish a “Judea, Samaria, and Gaza Heritage Authority” under the Heritage Ministry, extending Israel’s direct civilian responsibility for archaeology and heritage in the areas covered by the law, marking an unprecedented departure from how Israel currently runs affairs there.
The bill has been criticized by the committee’s legal advisor, the Israel Defense Forces and many in Israeli academia.
The Times of Israel Community.