Civil Administration issues second expropriation order covering about 1,800 dunams of Palestinian land at Sebastia archaeological site after rejecting objections
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On 19 November 2025 the Israeli Civil Administration announced its intent to expropriate about 1,800 dunams of mostly privately owned land at the Sebastia archaeological site near Nablus, which Haaretz described as the largest such order for an archaeological project since 1967. Residents' objections, and according to reports Emek Shaveh's, were rejected, and on 11 February 2026 the Civil Administration issued a second, more definitive expropriation order covering the same area, per Emek Shaveh. The Civil Administration has said the measure responds to neglect of the site and Israeli officials say it will protect the site and open it to visitors. Critics, including Emek Shaveh and Peace Now, say it goes beyond what protecting the site requires and affects roughly 3,000 olive trees.
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- +972 Magazine — Israel preparing largest ever 'archeological cleansing' in West Bank
550 private plots targeted
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