Israel issued a Nov. 12 order to appropriate parcels of the Sebastia archaeological site in the northern West Bank, a move rights groups say covers roughly 450 acres and would be the largest seizure of historic land to date. The announcement coincided with the overnight establishment of an unauthorized settler outpost near Bethlehem and the detention and hospitalization of a Palestinian activist who documented settler violence. Human Rights Watch urged investigations after concluding about 32,000 Palestinians were displaced from three refugee camps earlier this year and more than 850 structures were destroyed or heavily damaged. The measures have heightened tensions over heritage protection, civilian safety and alleged human-rights violations in the West Bank.
Israel Moves to Seize Vast Sebastia Archaeological Site as New West Bank Outpost Appears
Israel issued a Nov. 12 order to appropriate parcels of the Sebastia archaeological site in the northern West Bank, a move rights groups say covers roughly 450 acres and would be the largest seizure of historic land to date. The announcement coincided with the overnight establishment of an unauthorized settler outpost near Bethlehem and the detention and hospitalization of a Palestinian activist who documented settler violence. Human Rights Watch urged investigations after concluding about 32,000 Palestinians were displaced from three refugee camps earlier this year and more than 850 structures were destroyed or heavily damaged. The measures have heightened tensions over heritage protection, civilian safety and alleged human-rights violations in the West Bank.
Israel has issued an order to appropriate large parcels of land around Sebastia, a major archaeological site in the northern West Bank, according to a government document dated Nov. 12. Rights groups say the declaration covers roughly 450 acres — which would make it the largest seizure of archaeologically significant land in the territory to date. The order gives local landowners 14 days to file objections.
Peace Now and other monitoring groups say the area targeted for expropriation is Palestinian-owned and includes thousands of olive trees. The ruins at Sebastia are believed to overlie the ancient Israelite capital Samaria and are venerated by Christians and Muslims as the traditional burial site of John the Baptist. Israel announced plans in 2023 to develop Sebastia as a tourist destination; excavations are underway and roughly $9.24 million has been allocated for site development.
The expropriation notice coincided with reports that Israeli settlers erected a new unauthorized outpost near Bethlehem overnight. Settler leaders hailed the outpost as a symbolic return to biblical sites and said it would strengthen links between the Etzion bloc and Jerusalem. Photos shared by settlers show temporary structures and bulldozers; Peace Now’s settlement-monitoring program says the encampment sits on land that was once an Israeli military base.
The outpost appeared shortly after a deadly stabbing near a busy junction where one Israeli was killed and three others were wounded. Some local settlers and officials framed the new encampment as a response to that attack. Hamas did not claim responsibility for the stabbing but described the attack as a response to occupation policies.
Detention of an Activist and Rights Concerns
Separately, a West Bank activist who documented settler violence was detained and hospitalized after being held at a military base in the Jordan Valley, his lawyer said. Lawyer Riham Nasra said the activist, Ayman Ghrayeb Odeh, was hospitalized following detention and that authorities have not disclosed his condition or location. Israel’s domestic security agency, Shin Bet, confirmed Odeh’s detention on incitement charges and said he could face administrative detention — a measure that permits detention without public charge or trial based on classified evidence.
Family members say Odeh was active on social media documenting settler incidents and that his phone was confiscated at the time of arrest.
Human Rights Watch Findings and Military Operations
Human Rights Watch on Nov. 12 released a report urging investigations into alleged Israeli conduct in the West Bank, saying roughly 32,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced from three refugee camps earlier this year — the largest displacement in the territory since 1967. The camps cited include Tulkarem, Nur Shams and Jenin. HRW said satellite imagery and field interviews show more than 850 homes and buildings were destroyed or heavily damaged during military raids in January and February.
Israel describes the operations, dubbed "Operation Iron Wall," as necessary to disrupt militant networks after the October 2023 attacks in Gaza. The military said it uncovered explosive labs and exchanged fire with armed militants, and asserted that attacks in the West Bank have declined since the raids, without providing independent evidence for the percentage cited.
Human Rights Watch criticized authorities for not explaining why whole camp populations needed to be removed or why displaced people have not been allowed to return, and said soldiers shot at some residents who tried to re-enter the camps. "With global attention focused on Gaza, Israeli forces have carried out war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing in the West Bank that should be investigated and prosecuted," said Nadia Hardman, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch.
Political Context
The current Israeli government includes ministers who strongly support settlement expansion, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich — who helps shape settlement policy — and Cabinet Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who oversees policing. At the same time, Israel’s president and senior military officials have publicly condemned a recent rise in settler violence in the West Bank.
This developing situation raises tensions over archaeological heritage, civilian safety and international human-rights concerns. The expropriation order, the emergence of a new outpost, the detention of a rights activist, and the HRW findings together underscore the growing humanitarian and political challenges in the West Bank.