Israeli Settlers Storm Archaeological Site Near Nablus

Nablus, MINA – Israeli settlers on Wednesday stormed an archeological site of Sebastia, north of the West Bank city of Nablus, Wafa reported.

Sebastia mayor Mohammad Azzem said that the settlers forced their way into the site under the protection of the Israeli military, which declared the site off-limit for Palestinians.

He added that a large unit of Israeli soldiers raided the town and proceeded to close the site, preventing from Palestinians from accessing it, to make room for the settler intrusion.

Located 11 kilometers to the northwest of Nablus, Sebastia is a small historical town located on a hill with panoramic views across the West Bank and has a population of some 3,000 Palestinians.

A prominent settlement during the Iron Age as well as the Hellenistic and Roman eras, the town embraces a Roman amphitheater, temples, a Byzantine and a crusader churches.

Israel has been attempting to take over the town, which has become a site of heated cultural conflict, preventing the Palestinian Authority from conducting restoration works at the site, prohibiting providing tourist services to visitors from around the world, and stealing antiquities from it.

Palestinians complain that Israeli settlers have repeatedly attacked the town and fenced parts of its antiquities, where they hold religious rituals.

Twelve dunums of the archaeological area is located within (B) areas, which are controlled by Israeli military and Palestinian administrative authority, while the other part of the area lies within (C) areas, which falls under complete Israeli administrative and military control.

Owners of restaurants and hotels complain about the Israeli acts in the town which have caused them severe damages and losses.

Israel uses the Jewish nationalist name “Judea and Samaria” to refer to the occupied West Bank to reinforce its bogus claims to the territory and to give them a veneer of historical and religious legitimacy.

There are over 700,000 Israeli settlers living in colonial settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)