"Peace Now" movement: Netanyahu exploits every moment before the elections to create facts that facilitate the complete annexation of the West Bank

  Confiscation of 2478 dunams as archaeological sites and huge budgets for their seizure"Peace Now" movement: Netanyahu exploits every moment before the elections to create facts that facilitate the complete annexation of the West Bank to turn this country into a land designated for Jews only, materially and morallyJerusalem - Muhammad Abu KhdeirThe Israeli Civil Administration (military rule) issued an order to confiscate the archaeological site of "Herodium" and its surroundings, with a total area ofing 300 dunams, under "Confiscation Order H/03/26". This strategic site is located east of Bethlehem Governorate, in an escalating step within a systematic policy to impose control over holy sites and archaeological sites in the West Bank. The confiscation order includes the famous archaeological hill, excavation areas at the foot of the mountain, in addition to vast agricultural lands owned by Palestinian families from the Ta'amra area, threatening to displace farmers and cut down olive trees, which represent the backbone of the local economy there.In this context, the "Peace Now" movement said in a report yesterday: "The government led by Netanyahu is trying to exploit every moment before the elections to create additional facts on the ground that facilitate the complete annexation of the West Bank. Tourist and archaeological sites constitute another form of settlement. Their goal is not limited to seizing vast areas of Palestinian land, but extends to shaping public awareness, marginalizing the Palestinians' connection to the land, and turning this country into a land designated for Jews only, materially and morally."Roots and expansion of the measureThe roots of this measure date back to March 2024, when the Civil Administration, surprisingly, announced that 170 dunams within the Herodium site were "state land," a concept and system of unjust decisions and legislation used by the British Mandate in Palestine, then modified by the Israeli occupation authorities in favor of settlement. According to Palestinian legal sources, this classification aims to strip Palestinians of their properties based on flimsy arguments of not proving ownership within specific timeframes, which were often short under occupation. The new confiscation order includes this entire area, adding an additional 130 dunams located in the lower part of Herodium (Lower Herodium), which contains a huge pool dating back to the Herodian era, and archaeological arcades and gardens that were used as an ancient royal resting station.Race against time to change realityThe confiscation of Herodium does not come in isolation from a wide campaign launched by the occupation government against antiquities in the West Bank. On February 11, 2026, a record area of 2068 dunams was confiscated for the development of the Sebastia archaeological site in Nablus Governorate, which the Israeli "Peace Now" movement described as "unprecedented and unusual," because it is located within the fabric of a populated Palestinian village, and threatens the livelihood of residents who work in tourism and services related to the historical site. In May 2026, the scenario was repeated at the Nabi Samuel (Prophet Samuel) site north of Jerusalem, where an additional 110 dunams were confiscated, including a mosque and a religious shrine belonging to the Islamic Endowments. "Peace Now" considered this the first time that a religious site owned by the Islamic Endowments was forcibly confiscated.The Israeli narrative: Rehabilitation in preparation for controlFor its part, the Israeli occupation army justified this step through a statement by the Israeli Civil Administration, stating that the decision comes "to develop and preserve the archaeological site," and was taken based on "comprehensive professional assessments conducted by the antiquities official and the nature reserves official in the Civil Administration, which indicated an urgent need to organize the area and enhance preservation efforts; to prevent damage to archaeological remains of unique cultural and historical importance." The extremist Israeli Heritage Minister, Amichai Eliyahu, also announced a plan to rehabilitate the "Lower Pool" in Herodium, with the aim of making it capable of storing water again, and attracting tourists to what he considers "Jewish heritage." Local sources revealed that intensive development work has been carried out at full speed in recent months, focusing on the areas recently confiscated by the occupation, which confirms that the expropriation did not come by chance, but is an administrative facilitation for a plan aimed at transforming Herodium into a global tourist attraction within Israeli promotional programs, with complete disregard for the Palestinian character of the site and the surrounding Palestinian area.Archaeological and historical importanceHerodium (Jabal al-Fureidis) is considered a rare architectural masterpiece. It is the palace and fortress built by King Herod the Great between 23 and 15 BC. The Roman historian Josephus Flavius described it as a site built "to commemorate Herod's victory over the Hasmoneans and the Parthians," a name he immortalized throughout the ages. The site consists of three main parts: the fortified palace on the top of the mountain (Upper Herodium) which overlooks the Dead Sea and Jerusalem, the luxurious "Lower Herodium" complex which included a huge swimming pool (70 x 46 meters) and gardens and arcades, which is the section included in the recent confiscation, in addition to the northern slope where Herod's tomb was discovered. Archaeologist Roi Porat, who has been managing excavations at the site for years, said that "Herodium was considered the largest royal complex in the Roman world in its era, and extended over an area of 250 dunams, and included luxurious Roman baths and huge water channels that brought water from Solomon's Pools in Bethlehem."In 2007, archaeologist Professor Ehud Netzer of the Hebrew University announced the discovery of Herod's tomb, after three decades of research. The tomb was found amidst fragments of a red stone sarcophagus, believed to have been deliberately destroyed by Jews during the revolt against the Romans (66-70 AD), or perhaps during the Bar Kokhba revolt (132-135 AD).Netzer explained in his previous research that "Herod chose this isolated and remote site, which overlooks the horizon of Jerusalem, to be his final resting place despite all the glory he built throughout the kingdom around the world, and he planned to transform the entire mountain into a massive funerary monument on an epic scale," as published excavation documents indicate.Ironically, the Israeli narrative promotes the site as a Jewish site, yet it contains archaeological evidence confirming that it was used as a large Christian monastery between the fifth and seventh centuries AD, in addition to the existence of an entire Byzantine village at the bottom of the hill, reflecting the multiplicity of civilizations on this Palestinian land.Political and legal dimensions:Observers believe that this policy comes within a broader context to dismantle Palestinian Authority institutions and impose de facto Israeli sovereignty over areas classified as "C," which constitute about 60% of the West Bank's area. In February 2026, the Israeli government approved a series of decisions described by "Peace Now" as aiming to "open the West Bank as a real estate market for settlers," including transferring land registration powers from the occupation army to civilian bodies affiliated with the government, which makes it difficult for Palestinians to prove their ownership dating back to the Ottoman Empire and the British Mandate.For his part, Yonatan Mizrahi of "Peace Now" warned that "the current government has a clear messianic agenda, and wants to tell the world that this country is for Jews only, which condemns us to many more years of painful and bloody conflict that cannot be resolved."