A dramatic plan is gaining traction these days led by the Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich, who also serves as Minister of Settlement Affairs within the Ministry of Defense. As part of the program, millions of shekels will be invested in the site of the Hasmonean palaces near Jericho in order to bring tourists to the place on a regular basis.
Read more: Israel Working To Save Hasmonean Winter Palace From Palestinian Destruction
Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman, Tourism Minister Haim Katz, and Heritage Minister Rabbi Amichai Eliyahu are working to stop the Palestinians from further destroying archaeological sites. The trio will bring to the Knesset a vote on Sunday a bill to restore the Tel Shomron National Park and reopen it to the public. For years, the site was closed in light of the extensive destruction of antiquities carried out there by the Palestinian Authority. Tel Shomron Park, or Sebastia, is the ancient site of the Israelite castle that includes hundreds of magnificent artifacts and many graves of Jews dating back thousands of years.
Read more: Knesset Acts Against Palestinian Efforts To Destroy Ancient Israelite Castle
The Palestinian Authority paved a road and built a residential building in El-Onok, a heritage site from the biblical time of Joshua’s entrance to the land of Canaan. The site is one of the most important remaining archaeologically significant areas from the first Iron Age period in Samaria.
Read more: Palestinian Authority Destroying Another Biblical Period Site In Samaria
A compass belonging to one of the soldiers of Israel’s famous Independence War’s Mountain Division was discovered at the top of Battle Hill in the lowlands of the Judean Hills, next to machine gun pods. According to researchers Dr. Rafi Lewis from Haifa University and And Eyal Marco from the Antiquities Authority, the compass belonged to the commander of the division, Danny Mas, or to one of the two scouts who fought in the division, Yitzhak Halevi or Yitzhak Zebuloni.
Read more: Archaeologists Uncover Compass From Bloody Independence War Battle
The District Court in Jerusalem heard last Thursday the petition from the Regavim movement against the Beit Fajjar quarry, the largest illegal quarry in the country located in the eastern Gush Etzion block and operated by Palestinian businessmen. At the hearing, the state rejected the claims that there is ongoing damage to archeology and claimed that the situation at the quarry is static and has not had a significant expansion since 2005.
Read more: Massive Illegal Palestinian Quarry In Judea Destroying Archaeological Site
