Palestine accuses Israel of stealing artifacts from Sebastia site

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday accused Israeli authorities of looting artifacts from the ancient Sebastia archaeological site in the occupied West Bank, charging that heavy machinery excavations and new signage seek to erase the location's Palestinian identity.

Excavations and 'Samaria Park' signage

The ministry said Israeli authorities were operating heavy machinery around the Roman theater at Sebastia, carrying out excavation and land-clearing work that threatens the structural integrity of the ancient remains. The site has been fitted with signs bearing the name "Samaria Park," a designation the ministry said forms part of an effort to alter the location's identity and impose Israeli colonial control over one of Palestine's most prominent heritage sites.

It described the ongoing work as a "flagrant violation of international law" and an attempt to annex the occupied West Bank, noting that Sebastia was recently placed on UNESCO's World Heritage in Danger list. "Plundering Palestinian artifacts or distorting them or changing their significance," said the ministry, constitutes an attack on Palestinian presence and world heritage, and an attempt to control the site and erase its historical identity.

Violations of international conventions

The ministry stated that the excavation activities violate Israel's obligations as an occupying power under international humanitarian law, which mandates the protection of cultural property and prohibits its exploitation for occupation-related purposes. The actions also breach the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and the 1972 World Heritage Convention, both of which require the preservation of heritage sites in occupied territories.

The ministry warned that threats to Sebastia have intensified since its designation as a World Heritage site in danger, adding that the work includes "stealing its artifacts" alongside the unauthorized excavations. The statement underscored that altering or removing archaeological materials from the site represents a direct assault on Palestinian cultural sovereignty and the universal value of the heritage location.

Appeal to UNESCO

The ministry urged UNESCO, the World Heritage Committee and international organizations to take urgent action to halt the excavation, land-clearing and tampering at the site, as well as the "theft of artifacts." It demanded "concrete" measures to protect the location's authenticity and prevent any projects that could undermine its outstanding universal value, while calling for accountability for what it described as the looting of Palestinian cultural heritage.

Protecting Palestinian heritage requires effective measures on the ground, an end to the occupation and allowing the State of Palestine to exercise sovereignty over its land and resources, the ministry added. Sebastia lies northwest of Nablus and contains ruins spanning multiple historical periods, considered among the most significant archaeological locations in the West Bank.