Sebastia, occupied West Bank – Israel calls it an archaeological project to highlight the Jewish heritage and create a new park. As for the Palestinians, it provides additional evidence of plans to include an ancient town and erase Palestinian history in a region that tells the story that extends to 5,000 years.
The Israeli government ministers were from the extreme right and supporters of settlement in Sebastia (an archaeological Palestinian town in the West Bank) on May 12 as part of a delegation to celebrate the imminent seizure of the archaeological park in the town, which is one of the largest and most important archaeological sites of 6,000 sites in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli extremist Heritage Minister, Amihai Eliao, who himself is a resident of an illegal settlement in the West Bank, praised the start of Israeli exploration on the site and the upcoming construction of the “Samaria National Park”, which will focus on the Jewish history of the region.
The Palestinians say this will be accompanied by an attempt to blur their prayers on the ground. The Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities described the excavations as “preparing to include Sebastia and isolate it from its surroundings.”
Israeli politicians refer to Sebastia in the name of Samaria, or Shomron in Hebrew, and they say it was the biblical capital of the Kingdom of Israel nearly 3 thousand years ago.
But the archaeological site includes the ruins of a Byzantine church, a Roman forum and runway, and the Church of St. John from the Crusader era, which was rebuilt to become a mosque, and it is believed that it includes the site of the tomb of John the Baptist, known in the Qur’an as the Prophet Yahya, peace be upon him.
UNESCO considers the inclusion of the archaeological park in Sebastia, which was once a tourist attraction and is still a pilgrimage site for Christians, on the World Heritage List, and the decision is subject to the completion of Palestinian officials to request registration.
River
The mayor of Sebastia, Muhammad Azim, and the residents of the town, has always warned of the intention of Israel “Judaization” and turning it into an exclusive tourist destination for the Israelis.
Anxiety intensified after the municipality received a land confiscation order last July to establish a “military purposes” on the top of an old hill in the region.
Speaking to Al -Jazeera, from his office overlooking the old town, which is getting ruined, Azim said, “A river of blood will flow to the village” if the construction of the barracks begins, as he put it.
He referred to more than 40,000 Palestinians, who were displaced by Israeli military operations in the West Bank this year, and that the Israeli army aims to make life unbearable to the population here, until they eventually surrender to reality and leave. Just like those who were displaced in Jenin and Tulkarm. “
“Currently, the Israeli forces storm the village on a daily basis and a clear structure of killing,” Azim added. “We will resist the construction peacefully, of course. The landowners will not abandon their lands,” he added.
The mayor called for the condemnation of the escalation of military violence in the village and targeting children, especially the army firing in a killer manner on the 14 -year -old boy Ahmed Jazza in January.
For its part, the Israeli government argues that the village of Sebastia will not be affected by archaeological actions, because it is located outside the boundaries of the proposed park.
But the Amina of the Sebastia Archaeological Museum Walaa Ghazal, which has erected throughout her life in the town, considers that these plans are an escalation in the Israeli policies aimed at expelling residents and business owners in the end and preventing the Palestinians from reaching the town, its ruins, the sprawling hills and the surrounding olive fields.
“The population is afraid of the future”, especially those close to the antiquities.
“The situation is very dangerous. Soon, they will prevent us from going to the archaeological site,” she added.
“In my opinion, we have only months left before he asked us to leave our homes. We see the future in Gaza and in the camps (in the West Bank). They are trying to emancipate.”
Successive eras
Azim said that the Israeli ministers and the settler political ministers are using the discourse of protecting the biblical Jewish heritage to hide their old desire to include Sebastia.
He joined Elihao in Sebastia, Minister of Environmental Protection, Eidit Silman, and the President of the Regional Council, Shomron Yossi Dagan, who controls 35 illegal settlements in the West Bank.
Silman praised the scheme, and told Israeli media, “Historical justice is now achieving,” accusing the Palestinians of trying to “erase” the Jewish heritage.
The Israeli government has always been clear that Sebastia will be seized and transferred to the axis of Israeli tourism in the West Bank.
The archaeological discoveries indicate that the site of Samaria has witnessed settlement since the late fourth millennium BC, and it is believed that it was the capital of the northern Kingdom of Israel (in the name of Samaria). This was done at the hands of King Amri around the year 880 BC, and the region fell in the hands of the Assyrians led by Sargon II in 722 BC, and became an administrative center in the Assyrian Empire, and then continued this role under the Babylonian and Persian rule.
In the year 331 BC, Alexander the Great seized the city, and later became under the rule of the Seleucids. In the year 108 BC, the city was destroyed during the campaign of King Hashmouni, John Herkanus. And in the year 27 BC, Herod the Great rebuilt the city and called it “Sebastia” in honor of the Roman Emperor August, where temples, public square, theater, and other facilities were built, which made it an important urban center in the region.
In May 2023, the Israeli government approved a scheme of 30 million shekels (the Israeli currency unit) for the restoration of the park, the establishment of a tourist center, new arrival methods, and the expansion of military presence. The renewal of the deserted Hijaz railway station, about two miles, was also announced, which stopped working in the last years of the era of the Ottoman Empire, at a cost of 4 million shekels.
“The archaeological excavations aim to uncover the effects of the site and make the old city available to reach it throughout all its periods: from the beginning of settlement in the eighth century (BC) during the ancient Kingdom of Israel, through the Hellenistic city, and the wonderful Roman city built by King Herod (called” Sebsus “in relation to the Emperor August to the Byzantine period when a church was built On the site.
Erasing the Palestinian identity
Ghazal said that the effects of Sebastia showed a “distinct local culture” in a geographical area “always known as Palestine.” She said that the monuments emphasize the religious and cultural importance of the town of invasive empires, and the coexistence of its multi -religious residents in peace for centuries.
In the Palestinian request submitted to UNESCO, it is noteworthy that the current Sebastia still maintains “the old name and is located in the eastern part of the Roman city, which indicates a strong element of cultural continuity.”
But for those who focus on the planned Israeli national park, only Jewish history is important.
In response to an inquiry from the island, the Elihau office said that Sebastia was “first and foremost a Jewish heritage site, where archaeological remains were found from the period of the Kingdom of Israel.”
He added, “It is important to emphasize that even if we dug on the site until the nucleus of the earth, no historical evidence will be found on an old Palestinian settlement on the site.”
As for Yossi Dagan, who lives in the neighboring settlement of Shafi Shomron, he has long defended the seizure of Sebastia and emphasizes its prominent position in the biblical history. “When you dig here, you touch the Bible with your hands,” he told Israeli media on the archaeological site.
But Ghazal said that the Israeli government’s dealings with biblical stories in the Old Testament as a historical reality aimed at marginalizing the Palestinians’ allegations that they lived on the ground for thousands of years, and ignoring the bonds of the ancient Palestinian people on their land.
“You cannot build your demand for the ground on the basis of religion,” Ghazal said. “
“Israel wants to kill the stories of our past and replace them with a poisoned narration; it is a crime against our history. When they destroy our monuments, and keep the families that preserve history alive, who will speak after that and carry our story for the next generation?”
“Israel wants to kill the stories of our past and replace them with a poisoned narration,” Ghazal added.
Ghost
Ahmed Kayed, a 59 -year -old village of Sebastia and a prominent activist – for the English island – said that the antiquities will not be “taken without a fight” and is always taking place to organize the demonstrations.
He added that Israel “plans a big thing” in Sebastia, noting that new iron barriers are set up on the roads surrounding the town.
He said it was very dangerous to the inhabitants of Sebastia to visit the archaeological park as a result of settler attacks and almost daily military incursions. But once a military barracks are created, the area will be permanently banned.
“They are working step by step to seize Sebastia and keep us suffer all the time until people leave.”.
“We are living in a second cat, and today is under the siege. But a strong seventeen, we know how to face them because we did it before,” he added.
“We live in a second cat, and the Pastalism today is under the siege. But a strong seventeen, we know how to face them because we did it before.”
He pointed out that the residents rose up to thwart Israel’s plans to seize the seventies of the seventies, and did so again to stop the settlers’ pumping of wastewater on agricultural lands in 2013. Two years later, the protests of the population and their sit -ins reserved the construction of a new access to the settlers, which was justified by the Elihao office as necessary for “hundreds of thousands of Israelis who will want to come, learn and experience the Jewish heritage” For Sibastia.
But Kayed admits that time has changed, and that the (Israeli) army’s violence today is not similar to anything that he witnessed during its decades.
“When we decide what to do, we will be smart, and we will demonstrate in new ways, and everyone will follow us in Sebastia.”
He also expressed his deep concern that if excavation takes place, the Israelis will desecrate the archaeological discoveries that contradict their claim on the ground, with much of what has not been revealed yet, if the fossils led by the Palestinians are not prevented.
The municipality still hopes that UNESCO will provide protection to the village, and add monuments to its World Heritage List. The mayor also hopes that the archaeological park will join 56 other locations in the UNESCO record for important sites, which are “in danger”.
Companies close to the archaeological site say they have lost more than 3 quarters of their customers since October 7.
Samer Shaer, the owner of a cafe, is directly adjacent to the park and the majestic Roman pillars, that the establishment of a military site would be destroyed by companies.
“There will be daily confrontations, a permanent military presence, and lack of safety. No one will want to come and sit here while the army is stationed nearly, and the owners of the stores or visitors will not be able to stay.”
As soon as it was a sacred land in which the prophets and emperors coveted the invaders, Sebastia turned into a ghost town inhabited by the ruins of the ancient glory, which also made it a target of annexation by the extremist Israeli national government.
Kayed seemed clearly affected by his youth playing the hills of the archaeological park, and his life he spent in an attempt to save his house.
It was clear that he felt sorrowed because the town did not move more quickly to unite against the creeping threat of military barracks or the final annexation. But it seems that all concerned, including the mayor, are not sure of what will come after that, or when.
“This land means everything for me. I spent all my childhood, my life is going to the park,” Kayed added.
“They will confiscate my ground (to build barracks). I planted olive trees there with my mother, it is very painful to lose them. The village will never give up the effects. This is our history, our life. We will fight to the end.”
