West Bank, Gaza antiquities bill breaks Israel’s international obligations – legal official

As committee gears up to bring legislation for final votes in plenum, panel’s legal adviser warns it reinforces ‘creeping annexation’ claims; army also opposes it

A controversial bill seeking to extend Israeli civilian control over antiquities in the West Bank and Gaza would violate Israel’s international commitments and reinforce claims of “creeping annexation,” according to a position paper by the Knesset Education, Culture and Sports Committee legal adviser.

The bill, which establishes a “Judea, Samaria, and Gaza Heritage Authority” under the Heritage Ministry, was discussed on Sunday to prepare it for its final readings in the Knesset plenum, where it could be voted into law. The committee is set to resume its discussion on Monday and vote on sending the bill to the plenum.

“[Regarding West Bank Areas A and B], the bill stands in contradiction to the interim agreements to which the State of Israel is a signatory, and to the legislation adopted in Israel and the [West Bank] for their implementation,” reads the paper published in conjunction with the meeting, referring to the areas in the West Bank under the civilian responsibility of the Palestinian Authority.

“Israel does not have any civil powers in the Gaza Strip,” the document further reads. “Beyond the fact that the application of civilian powers to [Areas A and B, and Gaza] contradicts international agreements that have been adopted into law in Israel and the area, it also raises substantial implementation and enforcement difficulties.”

Under the 1995 Oslo II Accords, the West Bank is divided into Area A, under full Palestinian control, Area B, under Israeli security control and Palestinian civilian control, and Area C, under full Israeli control.

The person currently responsible for antiquities in the West Bank is a staff officer of the Archaeology Unit of the Civil Administration, a branch of the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), which is responsible for civilian affairs in the region and staffed by the Israel Defense Forces.

Concerning Gaza, during the committee meeting, Omri Shalom, a representative of the IDF International Law Division, expressed the army’s opposition to the legislation, stating that “introducing an Israeli body could harm the efforts” to bring international actors to rule the Strip as envisioned by US President Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza, which the army is working on implementing following the directives of the political leadership.

In previous meetings, an army representative had already stated the IDF’s opposition to the bill both in the West Bank and Gaza.

Shalom explained that the IDF currently operates in Gaza according to the internationally agreed laws of war, not security legislation enacted by the military commander based on security and civilian needs. In the West Bank, in contrast, as the legal adviser’s position paper noted, Israel applies the Law of Belligerent Occupation, while maintaining it considers the territory disputed, not occupied.

The committee’s legal adviser, Tami Sela, suggested introducing new language specifying that the Antiquities Bill will apply in Gaza only if Israel in the future approves security legislation related to the field of antiquities for the Strip. The new language is supposed to be presented during the committee meeting on Monday.

In the position paper, Sela noted several additional problematic aspects of the bill, including how it represents an unprecedented departure from the way Israel currently runs affairs in the West Bank (as well as in Gaza), and how it can strengthen claims that Israel is annexing occupied territories.

“The enactment of the bill could, especially cumulatively with additional legislation being promoted in the Knesset, reinforce claims that this constitutes a process of ‘creeping annexation,’ i.e., a stage within a gradual move to transform the territory into an area subject to the sovereignty and direct rule of the State of Israel,” the document reads.

Supporters of the bill, including its sponsor MK Amit Halevi (Likud) and Education Committee Chairman Zvi Sukkot (Religious Zionism), have been openly stating that the legislation’s goal is to extend Israeli sovereignty to the West Bank and Gaza.

“In this regard, claims may arise that even if the application of sovereignty as a general rule is a legitimate purpose, it is improper, in a democratic country that sees itself as part of the international community, to act to achieve the aforementioned purpose through this bill; i.e., without an official political decision by the government, without a broad in-depth examination of the move, and of its impact on the residents of the area and on security and political aspects,” Sela wrote, adding that the topic also does not fall under the Education Committee’s scope.

The committee has been running a series of marathon meetings to enable the Knesset to approve the proposal as quickly as possible in light of the time crunch caused by lawmakers’ decision to begin the process of dissolving parliament early, which would trigger a period of scaled-back legislative activity until the election.

Although the next Knesset recess has not been officially announced, it is expected to run from the end of July until the next Knesset is sworn in.

It is possible that the antiquities bill will not be put up for final votes in the plenum if the coalition decides not to move forward with it, or if legislation to dissolve the Knesset advanced last week is fast-tracked to be passed into law in the coming days.

Before the vote in the plenum, the final version of the bill is supposed to be approved by the ministerial legislation committee.

During Sunday’s meeting, Gideon Shevach, a representative of the National Security Council, the central body coordinating foreign affairs and national security for the prime minister and the government, also asked that the bill be reviewed by the prime minister before it is discussed in the ministerial committee and the Knesset plenum.