Government Approves Plan to Preserve Heritage Sites in Judea, Samaria

The government on Wednesday approved a NIS 250 million plan to preserve and develop heritage and antiquities sites in Judea and Samaria, the Jordan Valley and the Judean Desert, ahead of the anniversary of the Six-Day War in June.

The plan was announced jointly by the Prime Minister’s Office, Finance Ministry, Tourism Ministry, Heritage Ministry and National Missions Ministry.

Under the plan, new heritage centers, research and educational facilities and visitor centers will be built at sites across the region. The government said the goal is to strengthen the Israeli public’s connection to the Jewish people’s historic assets in the area.

The plan also includes a multi-year infrastructure upgrade worth tens of millions of shekels, aimed at turning the sites into major tourist destinations. It will also increase efforts to prevent antiquities looting, illegal excavations and destruction of archaeological sites.

The government said a permanent civilian and tourist presence at the sites would serve as a deterrent against looting and damage while strengthening public connection to the region’s history.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the decision, saying that “in almost every stone, mound and heritage site lie thousands of years of the Jewish people’s history in the Land of Israel.”

“We are investing today in preserving our past in order to secure our future, strengthen our hold on the Land of Israel, and pass on to future generations the heritage, identity and historical truth of our people,” Netanyahu said.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the decision comes alongside the approval of more than 100 new communities and farms in Judea and Samaria, calling both moves part of strengthening the Jewish connection to the land.

“Contrary to international hypocrisy, a people cannot be an occupier in its own land,” Smotrich said.

Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu said the state was correcting years of neglect at Jewish heritage sites in Judea and Samaria, some of which he said had been left vulnerable to destruction and looting.

The plan comes as the Knesset advances a controversial bill to create a Judea and Samaria Heritage Authority under the Heritage Ministry. Supporters say the authority is needed to protect antiquities, while critics argue it is another step toward annexation by placing heritage and land-management powers in the hands of a civilian Israeli body.