PM asked top official to examine controversial West Bank and Gaza antiquities bill, NSC official tells panel

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs to examine a controversial bill seeking to extend Israeli civilian control over antiquities in the West Bank and Gaza and present him with the government’s conclusions on the proposal, a National Security Council official tells a Knesset panel.

“Yesterday the government process requested by the prime minister started to examine the issue and convey conclusions to him, and it hasn’t ended yet,” NSC representative Gideon Shevach tells the Knesset Education, Culture and Sports Committee during a meeting to prepare the bill for its final readings in the plenum.

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

If passed into law, the bill would establish a “Judea, Samaria, and Gaza Heritage Authority” under the Heritage Ministry, directly exercising powers that are currently held by the Civil Administration, a branch of the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), which is responsible for civilian affairs in the region and staffed by the Israel Defense Forces.

According to the committee’s legal adviser, the proposal would violate Israel’s international commitments and reinforce claims of “creeping annexation.”

The army has stated its opposition to the bill.

In previous meetings, members of the opposition have repeatedly asked what Netanyahu’s and the government’s positions on the bill were, given its sensitivity and far-reaching implications.

Today marks the first time an official has openly stated that Netanyahu is aware of the proposal.

The committee is set to meet again to continue discussing the bill in the coming days.

Sukkot and Halevi express hope that the process to conclude the committee discussion and advance it to the plenum for its final readings could also happen within days, but Sukkot says he will abide by Netanyahu’s request if the prime minister wishes to delay.