Knesset panel ends without advancing West Bank and Gaza antiquities bill, will resume discussions next week

The Knesset Education, Culture and Sports Committee ends without a vote to send the controversial “West Bank and Gaza” antiquities bill, which many say amounts to de facto annexation, to the plenum for its final approval.

Committee Chair MK Zvi Sukkot of the far-right Religious Zionism party says the work on the bill will resume on Sunday. The committee needs to approve the final version of the proposal to advance it to the plenum. However, it is not clear whether the plenum will be able to vote on the bill as the Knesset is expected to be dissolved ahead of elections.

If approved, the bill will extend the State of Israel’s direct responsibility for antiquities, heritage sites, and archaeology in the West Bank, including in areas governed by the Palestinian Authority, and in the Gaza Strip, with provisions directly affecting Palestinian residents of the regions.

The committee has been trying to fast-track the bill after it was passed by the plenum in its first reading last week.