Archeology is typically a science that primarily serves to learn more about our past. In addition, she often manages to arouse people’s unprecedented enthusiasm. In this case, however, planned excavations become a problem: the Israeli government is currently planning to invest almost 27 million euros in archaeological projects. However, the excavation sites are in the West Bank, an area that is militarily occupied by Israel but officially belongs to Palestine. Among the more than 600 areas selected are some that are under the control of the Palestinian Authority. If Israeli archaeologists want to dig there, they would first have to obtain a license from the authorities in Ramallah.
In the past, however, Israeli archaeologists based in the West Bank have repeatedly violated this requirement. The inclusion of these illegal projects in the Israeli government’s budget documents effectively provides them with official endorsement.
The current plans have been longed for by Israeli settler organizations: They have pushed for placing thousands of archaeological sites, some of which are Palestinian-owned, under what they call “Israeli protection.” By designating such areas as archaeological sites, there would be an opportunity to withdraw them from the actual Palestinian owners without much fanfare – as would be expected when establishing a new settlement.
As previous projects have shown, such archaeological projects often lead to the emergence of new settlements: the excavation sites are converted into archaeological theme parks that attract tourists, who in turn demand tourism infrastructure such as accommodation and catering facilities. In the course of time, new settler apartments will also be built in the area. This gradually leads to the displacement of the Palestinian landowners.
“Emek Shaveh”, an Israeli organization that advocates for fair archaeological practices, sees this as a form of “creeping annexation”. Although this development has been observed for some time and previous governments were also active in the West Bank, the right-wing religious coalition under Benjamin Netanyahu does not even make a secret of their plan.
According to the Israeli government, the investment in archeology aims to promote “long-term economically sustainable” tourism projects. But Amichai Eliyahu of all people, a hardliner, is “minister for cultural heritage” and thus the chief supervisor of all excavations in Israel. Eliyahu has stated that he strives to preserve Jewish heritage on both sides of the Green Line – including the occupied West Bank. Critics fear that the logic behind this is that the more archaeological evidence suggests that Jews once lived in the region, the clearer Israel’s right to use the territory for its own ends becomes.
Sources: “Frankfurter Rundschau”, AFP
