Hundreds of Israeli settlers stormed the archaeological site of Sebastia

OCCUPIED AL-QUDS, Feb.10, (ST)-Hundreds of Israeli settlers today stormed the archaeological site of Sebastia, north of Nablus city, according to a municipal source.

Sebastia mayor Mohammad Azzem told WAFA that hundreds of settlers forced their way into the site under the protection of the Israeli occupation forces, which declared the site off-limit for Palestinians.

He added that a large unit of Israeli soldiers raided the town and proceeded to close the site, preventing Palestinians from accessing it, to make room for the settler intrusion.

Located 11 kilometers to the northwest of Nablus, Sebastia is a small historical town located on a hill with panoramic views across the West Bank and has a population of some 3,000 Palestinians.

A prominent settlement during the Iron Age as well as the Hellenistic and Roman eras, the town embraces a Roman amphitheater, temples, a Byzantine and a crusader churches, dedicated to Saint John the Forerunner, who baptized Jesus Christ in the Jordan River, besides to a mosque built in honor of the saint. Christians and Muslims believe the town to be the burial place of the saint.

Israeli occupation has been attempting to take over the town, which has become a site of cultural conflict, preventing the Palestinian Authority from conducting restoration works at the site, prohibiting providing tourist services to visitors from around the world, and stealing antiquities from it.

Palestinians complain that Israeli settlers have repeatedly attacked the town and fenced parts of its antiquities, where they hold religious rituals.

Owners of restaurants and hotels complain about the Israeli acts in the town which have caused them severe damages and losses.

Israeli occupation uses the Jewish nationalist name “Judea and Samaria” to refer to the occupied West Bank to reinforce its bogus claims to the territory and to give them a veneer of historical and religious legitimacy.

There are over 700,000 Israeli settlers living in colonial settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem in violation of international law.

Source: WAFA