Today, Saturday, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities called on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and international organizations working with heritage to intervene immediately to stop the Israeli aggression against our people and against the Palestinian national heritage, calling for confronting the occupation’s decision to annex Palestinian archaeological sites.

Last Wednesday, the General Assembly of the Israeli Knesset approved, with the majority of votes from the coalition and representatives from the opposition, and with the support of the government, a draft law requiring the application of the powers of the “Israeli Antiquities Authority” to antiquities in all areas of the occupied West Bank.

The bill was presented by Representative Amit Halevy from the Likud Party, and the bill was included on the Knesset agenda starting from the 20th parliamentary term (2015-2019), and later, by representatives of the right-wing settlement blocs, but this is the first time it has entered the legislative process.

The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said in a statement issued by it that the approval of this law constitutes an effective annexation of the occupied Palestinian territories, violates international law and international agreements, and represents a legitimization of the annexation and settlement process carried out by the occupation government.

She stressed that these decisions aim to control the Palestinian heritage and plunder the cultural capabilities of our people, and come in light of the escalation carried out by the extremist occupation government against our people.

She added, "The Israeli occupation's disavowal of international legal responsibilities and agreements related to the protection of heritage is one of the evidences that this criminal occupation seeks, within its escalatory policy, to obliterate the Palestinian heritage, which is considered a witness to the right of our people and their close connection to the land of Palestine."

She added that this escalation confirms to the world that the occupation is proceeding according to a clearly defined plan aimed at Judaizing the Palestinian lands, promoting settlement, and isolating Palestinian cities and villages from each other.

The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities stressed that the heritage of our Palestinian people is a human heritage, and the world is required to stand up to the occupation and deter it from carrying out its colonial plans, stressing that our people are steadfast in this land in which they have lived and interacted with all its components for thousands of years and will remain steadfast in defending their national rights despite About all the hostile practices and measures carried out by the occupation.

It also stated that these actions violate international agreements and treaties, such as the 1954 Hague Convention regarding the Protection of Cultural Property during Armed Conflict and its Protocol (1954-1999) and the 1970 Convention regarding the measures that must be taken to prohibit and prevent the import, export and transfer of ownership of cultural property, calling on all international institutions to address these decisions and prevent the powers Occupation from its application.