Israel places West Bank Muslim shrine under control of antiquities authority

Israeli forces raided several areas of Tulkarm in the northern occupied West Bank on Sunday and posted notices placing a Muslim shrine under the authority of the Israeli Antiquities Authority, according to official Palestinian media.

The Bint Yaqub shrine was among the sites declared subject to the antiquities authority, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

The two-story structure has a lower floor dating to the Roman period and an upper floor dating to the Mamluk era, Wafa said.

The site features domes, a prayer room and a passage leading to the ground floor. Two stone-built pools and two structures dating to the Roman period stand in front of the building.

An adjacent modern building known as Al-Fakhara is associated with pottery production and contains a kiln, according to the agency.

The Palestinian Tourism and Antiquities Ministry, in cooperation with Tulkarm Municipality, restored and rehabilitated the site between 2002 and 2004.

Responding to the Israeli move, the Palestinian Endowments Ministry condemned the move by Israeli authorities to designate the shrine as an archaeological area under the authority of the Israeli Antiquities Authority.

The ministry said the shrine stands on Islamic endowment, or waqf, land.

It described the measure as part of an Israeli policy aimed at "seizing and confiscating endowment lands to serve its settlement and expansion plans."

The ministry called on international and human rights organizations to intervene urgently to halt the violation and protect religious endowment lands and properties from confiscation and seizure.

Sunday's Israeli raids also targeted Izbat Abu Yasin in the village of Iktaba, the village of Al-Hafasi and other locations, where similar notices were posted concerning large tracts of land on the grounds that they contain archaeological sites.

The measures come amid Israel's moves to expand its authority over archaeological sites in the occupied West Bank.

In February this year, the Israeli government expanded the powers of the Civil Administration's archaeology officer to include measures involving archaeological sites in areas partly administered by the Palestinian Authority, according to Israeli organization Emek Shaveh.

In May, the Israeli Knesset approved in a first reading a bill to establish a civilian "Heritage Authority" under the Israeli Heritage Ministry to administer archaeological and heritage sites in the occupied West Bank instead of the Civil Administration's archaeology unit.

Further advancement of the bill later stalled, according to Emek Shaveh.