After decades of fear about excavating archaeological sites in the contested West Bank – the area Israelis refer to as Judea and Samaria, which Palestinians hope will one day be part of their national homeland – Israeli archaeologists, with the backing of the government, are stepping up to dig and develop sites that have been ravaged by dust, graffiti, and looting.
Internationally, critics have warned that Israel should refrain from excavating these sites because of the uncertain status of the territory, as it is considered by many countries to be “occupied.”
Meanwhile, the current Israeli government, as well as a growing number of Israeli archaeologists, feel that it is their duty to uncover this history and preserve it, while also cementing the Jewish narrative in the area.
The Jerusalem Report spoke to Israel’s Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu, a driving force behind the push to excavate and develop the sites, to understand why it is so important to him – and others in the government – to implement this multi-year project.
The following interview has been edited for space and clarity.
Why is it so important to carry out these excavations at heritage and archaeological sites in Judea and Samaria?
A simple reason. Just as the world was shocked when ISIS destroyed historic sites in Syria and in other places they passed through in order to erase the cultures that preceded them, so too the Palestinians, as part of a systematic plan, are destroying historical sites and rewriting the history of those places.
For example, I assume that in Britain, if someone dared to damage historical artifacts, no one could accept such a thing. Likewise, we cannot accept that here they damage sites connected to King David or King Saul… There is no logic in this, no reasonableness. Therefore, not only do we need to do this, but we are obligated to do it, also under international law.
Moreover, these are treasures of the Jewish people, who have been connected for 2,000 years here, in attachment to the land. This is our deed to this land. This is the story that proves the justice of our path.
There are many places inside the Green Line that prove the Jewish connection, and there are many that have been excavated but are not accessible to the public, so why Judea and Samaria?
There is a difference between an archaeological site of a village with no major historical significance and a site like Shiloh, right? There is a difference between a site that is simply ancient because people once lived there and a site where the battles of the Hasmoneans took place, of Judah Maccabee.
You ask, if I have hands, why do I need legs? Or if I have one king’s palace, why do I need another? But in places such as Hebron, our birthplace, or in ancient Shiloh, where we came to our land, the altar of Joshua, where the people of Israel entered the land – this is land of the Bible. It is a sacred place.
We have deep sentiment, and that sentiment is being scorned.
How much have you invested in this project, and what do you envision for its future?
Today, our investment is almost NIS 300 million.
Every nation that values its culture glorifies and elevates it. We will reconstruct these palaces. We will turn it into tourism sites and use it for explaining our history. We will use every technological means to tell the most wondrous story in the world, of the most wondrous people in the world – the biblical people.
And not just about the Jewish people but all civilization; this is the biblical story.
Some say that because this is occupied territory, Israeli excavation there violates international law and international agreements. How do you respond?
On the contrary, international law obligates us precisely because this is territory that currently has no sovereignty. We did not conquer it from anyone. If anything, the Balfour Declaration in 1917 and the San Remo Conference in 1920 declared the territory of Eretz Israel, including what is called the eastern bank, including Jordan.
The decisions of the League of Nations at San Remo determined that the territory of Mandatory Palestine includes all the biblical lands. We sit on the basis of the Balfour Declaration, and this territory is ours – historically, morally, ethically, and internationally.
Yet most of the world no longer recognizes that – and they do not recognize Israel’s sovereignty over Jerusalem. So is this about asserting Israel’s sovereignty through archaeology?
Not only through archaeology – through truth. Am I intending to tell our story? Certainly, yes. I am a statesman, and I am loyal to historical truth.
I am not scared. Were there also countries that voted against the establishment of the State of Israel? Yes. They did not recognize us then and they don’t recognize us now, but they will.
We are not a people of whims; they do not recognize historical truth. So we must make it known and present these sites. Just because they do not recognize it, should we flee from the truth? The world sometimes deceives itself.
Do you believe that exposing these archaeological sites strengthens Jewish connection and claims to the land?
The struggle is ideological. They [Palestinians] want to destroy us. If we forget for a moment why we are here and what our right is here, what happened on October 7 will happen again.
It will be like the Oslo Accords, like the disengagement from Gush Katif. When the Jewish people forget their path, the Palestinians, who remember theirs well, will slaughter us.
But if we remember our path, it will also be better for them. There are Arabs here who understand that we returned after 2,000 years of exile. Some even preserved our names and parts of our history. Many of our ancient places’ names were preserved in Arab villages.
That they now deny the historical role they played in preserving the land’s heritage is because they lost their way, not because we lost ours.
Will these sites be open to everyone, including Palestinians?
Anyone who is not our enemy will benefit. If they do not destroy or damage the sites, they can develop around them. These will be major tourist attractions. In the First Temple period, the great economic center was in Samaria – Sebastia – not Jerusalem.
People go to Rome or to the United States to see palaces 300 or 400 years old. Here, this is the land of the Bible – David, Saul, Ahab, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah. Even the New Testament is based on these stories. When it is developed, everyone will come. Everyone will recognize it.■