Archaeology

Samuel's Tomb in the Palestinian village of Nabi Samwil, occupied West Bank, April 28, 2014. (Keren Manor/Activestills)

Israel seizing West Bank heritage sites ‘piece by piece’

The army is expropriating thousands of dunams in Sebastia and Nabi Samwil, using archaeology as a pretext to further isolate Palestinian communities.

By Shatha Yaish July 24, 2026

Construction in the city of Lod, central Israel, July 13, 2024. (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)

In the name of ‘urban renewal,’ Israel is trampling Lod’s 2,000-year-old heritage

The municipality is encouraging real estate sharks to tear up the city’s history in order to build towers that will likely drive out Palestinian residents.

By Tawfiq Da'adli December 22, 2025

Graffiti sprayed on ancient archeological artifacts, in Sebastia, near the West Bank city of Nablus, May 12, 2025. (Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90)

Israel preparing largest ever act of ‘archeological cleansing’ in West Bank

Subordinating scientific value to colonial expansion, Israeli archeologists are putting up no resistance as the state moves to expropriate swaths of Sebastia.

By Alon Arad December 11, 2025

Latest

Smoke rises from the Mushtaha Tower, west of Gaza City, after it was hit by an Israeli airstrike, September 5, 2025. (Ali Hassan/Flash90)

The destruction of Gaza City is a crime against history

Centuries-old mosques, churches, and ancient artifacts all face obliteration as the Israeli military systematically flattens what remains of the city.

By Baker Zoubi September 30, 2025

Rafi Greenberg, Tel Aviv, June 2024. (Oren Ziv)

‘It comes with the territory’: How Israel’s archaeologists legitimize annexation

Weaponizing antiquities is part of Israel's colonial legacy, says Rafi Greenberg, whose colleagues have largely remained silent about Gaza's destruction.

By Dikla Taylor-Sheinman July 1, 2025

The ruins of the Great Omari Mosque, the largest and oldest mosque in northern Gaza. (Omar El Qattaa)

The obliteration of Gaza’s multi-civilizational treasures

Israel’s war has brought ruin to thousands of years of rich heritage in Gaza, with Palestinian experts decrying the destruction as a cultural genocide.

By Ibtisam Mahdi February 17, 2024

A Jewish ultra-Orthodox man visits the mountain fortress of Herodium, near the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem, November 29, 2010. (Yaakov Naumi/Flash90)

Israel’s army of archaeological looters

Using archaeology to validate its claim to the land, Israel is displacing artifacts from the occupied West Bank and erasing Palestinian identity.

By Dima Srouji October 1, 2020

The Dome of Rock is seen in the background of the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City as thousands of Jewish worshippers participated in the Cohen Benediction priestly prayer for the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, October 5, 2009. (Miriam Alster / FLASH90)

Israel spars with the world at UNESCO

The latest bout between Israel and UNESCO suggests that the world is warming up to Israel’s conflation of the Jewish people’s religious and historical connection to Jerusalem with its claim to exclusive sovereignty over the city. By Talya Ezrahi and Yonathan Mizrachi Israel’s success at UNESCO this week was a diplomatic coup. In a work of crafty…

By +972 Magazine May 5, 2017

The visitor’s center at the West Bank archeological site of Shiloh, in the Israeli settlement of Shilo. (Mendy Hechtman/Flash90)

Because BDS, Israeli archeologists want West Bank work kept secret

An Israeli court rejects a freedom of information request for the names of archeologists digging, under IDF license, in the occupied territories, and where Israel is storing the antiquities they uncover. The reason: so they don’t face academic boycott. The Jerusalem District Court on Monday refused to reveal the names of archeologists performing digs at…

By Haggai Matar November 22, 2016

Tourists and worshipers visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the Old City of Jerusalem. (Photo by Fat Jackey / Shutterstock.com)

‘Israel only officially recognizes Jewish holy sites’

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is one of the most sacred places in the world for Christianity. Yet Israel does not officially recognize it as a holy site, a new report reveals. Last Saturday the Eastern Churches marked Holy Fire, the Saturday after Good Friday, when Easter begins. Thousands of pilgrims visited…

By Orly Noy May 6, 2016

An ancient sewer in Silwan (photo: Emek Shaveh)

Israel’s very own tunnels of dread in Jerusalem

While everyone is preoccupied with the Hamas tunnels in Gaza, Israel continues to dig under Palestinian houses in Jerusalem. The excuses are questionable, residents are angry and fearful, and a religious conflagration appears imminent. By Orly Noy With the Hamas tunnels dominating the Israeli narrative for the past several weeks, their inherent danger horrifying the…

By Orly Noy September 6, 2014

The City of David archaeological park, against the background of Silwan (photo: JC/Activestills.org)

Tel Aviv University to cooperate with settler group on East Jerusalem dig

Tel Aviv University’s spokesperson refuses to explain why its archaeologists will work with Elad, an organization notorious for its pursuit of Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem. Haaretz reported on Thursday that Tel Aviv University’s Institute of Archaeology plans to start digging in al-Bustan, located in the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan in East Jerusalem, in cooperation with…

By Mairav Zonszein October 25, 2012