RAMALLAH, February 17, 2026 (WAFA) — Israeli occupation authorities have issued an order to seize 2,000 dunums of land from the towns of Sebastia and Burqa, northwest of Nablus, targeting the archaeological site in Sebastia, according to Moayad Shaaban, head of the Settlement and Wall Resistance Commission.
Shaaban said the official expropriation order issued Tuesday is a direct continuation of a prior declaration of intent to confiscate the land announced under order No. 2/25 in January 2025, which at the time did not include precise details about the area involved. The new order, numbered 26/1, clarifies that the total land targeted amounts to 2,000 dunums.
He said the previously announced estimate of 1,473 dunums was based on spatial assessments because the earlier notice provided only general boundaries without final maps or measurements. The latest order reveals the full scope of the targeted land within the same confiscation process.
Shaaban described the shift from a declaration of intent to a formal expropriation order as part of a phased procedure designed to establish legal and administrative control over the archaeological site and its surrounding geographic area. He said the targeted land extends beyond the site itself to include nearby agricultural areas and the territorial extensions of Sebastia and Burqa.
He argued that the use of expropriation measures tied to archaeological claims represents a selective application of legal tools to advance colonial goals. According to Shaaban, the move reallocates land for the exclusive benefit of settlers, stripping the procedure of its legal legitimacy and amounting to an administrative cover for annexation.
Shaaban added that using archaeological designations to expand control over Palestinian land reflects broader policies aimed at imposing new realities in the West Bank. He called for urgent legal action to challenge the order, as well as diplomatic and human rights efforts to expose the use of cultural heritage as a means of expanding territorial control.
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