On the hills overlooking the ancient Roman ruins of Sebastia in the occupied West Bank sit olive groves Palestinian families have cultivated for generations.

One landowner, Abu Mudif, says he was notified that his property is among roughly 450 acres being taken over by Israeli authorities as part of plans to develop the area into a large new park.

According to the BBC, Palestinian landowners typically receive little or no compensation when their land is expropriated. Even when compensation is offered, many reject it, viewing acceptance as an acknowledgment of and acquiescence to the loss of land they consider an integral part of their heritage.

It's a vital income for Abu Mudif to lose, of course, but it goes deeper than that for him. "If I wanted to describe it, the closest description I can give is that it is like having your soul ripped away. I cannot imagine myself without my land," he told BBC.

Cutting Palestinians off from archaeological sites

Nahed Sakha owns a local restaurant that is under threat of demolition. He said the Israeli scheme seems to be to cut Palestinians off from the archaeological site, which dates back to the Romans, the Crusaders, and the Ottomans, among others.

"Restoration work has now begun along with excavations," he said. "Landowners were told that no-one would be allowed to use or plough their land."

The concerns of the village that surrounds Sebastia have been echoed by the United Nations culture and education agency, UNESCO, which has now declared it not just a World Heritage Site but also added it to the List of World Heritage in Danger.

UNESCO says that the main threat facing the site concerns what it calls the "planned expropriation and creation of the 'Samaria' (Shomron) national park, which could divide the property."

'Israel' expands control over West Bank heritage sites with $311m scheme

Standing on a path between the entrance car park in Sebastia on one side - where the Roman-era forum once stood - and the columns of the basilica on the other, the village mayor, Mohammed Azem, looks down to his right at some rubbish left in the ruins.

He says Palestinians are now worried about reaching down to clean the area as it might cause problems with Israeli occupation forces and settlers.

The path on which he stands divides the site between Area B of the West Bank, which is designated for Palestinian civil administration while remaining under Israeli security control, and has increasingly faced Israeli settlement expansion and land usurpation, and Area C, which makes up over 60% of the occupied West Bank and remains under full Israeli military and administrative control.

It is important to note that under the Oslo II Accord, the Palestinian Authority’s power to register land is restricted to Areas A and B, with such registration explicitly prohibited in Area C. 

Last week, "Israel" approved $37 million to take control of more than 70 historical sites in the occupied West Bank as part of a wider settlement expansion plan.

Source:Websites