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Israel to Repair, Protect Heritage Sites in Judea and Samaria
(Israel Hayom) Efrat Forsher - Israel's Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage Ministry plans to allocate $3.2 million for the preservation, rehabilitation, and rescue of heritage sites in Judea and Samaria. Dozens of archaeological sites have been targeted by the Palestinian Authority and antiquities robbers in the Palestinian territories. Last month, Israel Hayom reported that antiquities robbers had caused significant damage to an ancient Roman amphitheater in Samaria. Last year, Palestinian roadwork destroyed portions of a 3,200-year-old wall on the biblical site of Joshua's altar on Mount Ebal, near Nablus. Funding will go toward reconstruction work at Sebastia, which served as the capital of the kingdom of Israel during the period of the First Temple, and for efforts to better protect archaeological sites. Further funding will be allocated toward reconstruction work at the Hasmonean royal winter palaces, a complex of Hasmonean and Herodian buildings from the Second Temple period near Jericho, after local Arab vandals damaged the site. Minister Ze'ev Elkin said, "The destruction of the sites, which is being carried out under the auspices of the PA, is destroying the history of the entire region....The conservation of heritage sites in Judea and Samaria is a national mission."