Netanyahu halts legislative process of controversial West Bank and Gaza Antiquities bill – report

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has halted the legislative process of a controversial bill seeking to extend direct Israeli civilian control over antiquities in the West Bank and Gaza, widely seen as a significant step toward annexation, an unnamed source from the coalition tells the Haaretz news outlet.

The Knesset Education, Culture and Sports Committee had scheduled a meeting this morning to vote on amendments to the bill as part of the work to prepare it for its final readings in the plenum, but the meeting was canceled shortly before it started. A new meeting on the bill has not been scheduled yet, though this is not out of the ordinary, as usually the committee’s schedule for the following week is published on Wednesdays and is always subject to change, even at the last minute.

The bill aims to establish a “Judea, Samaria and Gaza Heritage Authority” under the Heritage Ministry.

Supporters of the bill, including its sponsor MK Amit Halevi (Likud) and Education Committee Chairman Zvi Sukkot (Religious Zionism), have been openly saying that one of the legislation’s goals is to extend Israeli sovereignty to the West Bank and Gaza.

The IDF has officially stated its opposition to the proposal, and the committee’s legal adviser warned that if passed into law, it would violate Israel’s international commitments and reinforce claims of “creeping annexation.”

Last week, a National Security Council official told the Knesset committee that Netanyahu had asked Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs to examine the controversial bill and present him with the government’s conclusions.

During the meeting, Sukkot and Halevi expressed hope that the process to conclude the committee discussion and advance it to the plenum for its final readings could be completed within days, but Sukkot said he would abide by Netanyahu’s request if the prime minister wished to delay.