Palestinian officials are celebrating a UNESCO decision to recognize the ancient West Bank village of Sebastia as a World Heritage Site, expressing hope that the international designation will put the brakes on Israeli plans to take control of land at the historically rich location. Israel, however, blasted the move as a political maneuver.
Sebastia, situated in the northern West Bank, contains archaeological remains spanning thousands of years of history. According to UNESCO, the United Nations cultural organization, the site dates back at least to the 9th-century BC, when it served as the capital of the Israelite kingdom. Its layers of history include Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Islamic, Crusader, and Ottoman periods.
The landscape is marked by olive trees, Roman columns, ancient walls, stone steps, and an amphitheatre. The site is also traditionally regarded as the burial place of John the Baptist.
Residents of the village next to the archaeological site, many of whom depend on tourism for their livelihoods, have been facing land confiscations following an Israeli announcement of a plan to seize approximately 1,800 dunams — about 445 acres — at the location. Israel stated the seizure was intended to develop the area.
On Friday, UNESCO placed Sebastia on both its World Heritage List and its List of World Heritage in Danger, a mechanism designed to draw attention to and protect listed sites that face serious threats.
Nizar Kayed, the village’s deputy mayor, expressed cautious optimism following the decision. “We hope that this decision will enable us to preserve Sebastia,” he said, adding that Israel’s land seizure plan, announced in late 2025, was part of a broader push to expand settlements in the region.
Palestinian tourism and foreign ministry officials also issued statements Friday, saying they hoped the UNESCO recognition would help rally international opposition to Israeli actions at the site.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar pushed back sharply, saying the UNESCO vote was part of a Palestinian effort to obscure Jewish historical ties to the land. “No vote in an international organization can change history,” he said in a written statement.
Palestinian officials are additionally concerned about a proposed Israeli bill — not yet enacted into law — that would extend Israeli civil authority over ancient sites throughout the West Bank. If passed, the legislation would effectively remove oversight of those sites from the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, which has exercised limited self-governance in parts of the West Bank under agreements reached in the 1990s Oslo peace process. Israel captured the West Bank in a 1967 war.
