Nablus / PNN /

 Dirgham Faris, Director General of the Tourism and Antiquities Department in Nablus, stated that the Israeli occupation authorities are exploiting archaeological sites as a pretext to advance their colonial agenda. This is carried out through the unjust expansion of the boundaries of archaeological sites and the annexation of hundreds of dunams of surrounding land, despite large portions being devoid of any archaeological evidence.

Faris commented on remarks made by Yossi Dagan, Head of the Settlements Council in the northern West Bank, regarding the commencement of restoration work at the "Al-Masoudiya" train station near Sebastia, in which Dagan stated that "the site will attract one million settlers to the northern West Bank." Faris said these statements clearly reveal the true objective of the occupation: deepening colonization and Judaizing Palestinian archaeological areas.

He pointed out that the occupation exploits archaeological sites to seize as much land as possible, Judaize it, and pressure our people to emigrate, in line with a policy formally reinforced by the Knesset on 17 July 2024, which rejected the establishment of a Palestinian state west of the Jordan River.

Faris emphasized that archaeological evidence from various sites and historical periods proves that the Palestinian people are the indigenous inhabitants of this land since the Stone Age, and that temples, synagogues, churches, and mosques are all authentic components of our cultural heritage, reflecting the diversity of religions and cultures embraced by our people throughout the ages.

He stressed that while archaeological sites are known and preserved by the competent Palestinian authorities, the occupation’s actions are unrelated to heritage preservation. Instead, they aim to use these sites as a cover to annex more land for the establishment of new settlements, expand existing ones, and construct roads serving the colonial project, directly threatening officially recognized archaeological sites.

In recent periods, the occupation authorities have seized hundreds of dunams of land in the towns of Sebastia, Naqoura, Deir Sharaf, and Burqa, northwest of Nablus, for the purpose of building new colonial roads and taking control of archaeological sites in the area.