Bill advanced to expand IAA authority into West Bank

ARCHAEOLOGY AND POLITICS:

Ministers move to expand Antiquities Authority jurisdiction into West Bank. Bill would transfer auspices over archaeological sites in the territory from a military unit to a civilian government body, strengthening claims of de facto annexation (CHARLIE SUMMERS, Times of Israel)

Netanyahu Coalition Advances Bill Allowing Israel's Antiquities Authority to Operate in West Bank. 'It is indisputable that these areas are steeped in Jewish history, and in any case these findings have no historical or other connection to the PA,' says the bill's explanatory note. The Antiquities Authority director general opposed the move and said it was infeasible (Noa Shpigel & Nir Hasson, Haaretz)

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