Despite an explicit cabinet decision authorizing enforcement against the destruction of heritage sites throughout Judea and Samaria, Palestinians continued construction work and concrete pouring at the Hasmonean Palaces site over Independence Day and the surrounding days.
The site, a cultural and biblical asset of global significance, has suffered ongoing destruction in recent years that threatens to erase a rare archaeological marvel from ancient times. The Hasmonean Palaces and the sunken gardens of Herod’s Third Palace are considered rare testimony to the pinnacle of ancient technology and architecture.
In Area A, currently still under Palestinian Authority control, rampant construction continues erasing history and turning the heritage site into a construction zone and goat pens, just meters from the Israeli side. In recent days, massive development work was identified in the area known as the sunken gardens—activity that threatens to destroy the site permanently.
Shomrim Al Hanetzach, a heritage protection organization, sharply criticized the security establishment’s inaction. The group noted that a clear cabinet decision exists to prevent the destruction of heritage sites throughout Judea and Samaria, including in Areas A and B, and questioned why the army and Civil Administration aren’t stopping the heavy equipment on site.
“Cabinet decisions cannot remain on paper while heritage sites are destroyed before our eyes,” the organization said. “Israel is losing this battle and must act immediately so that the land of the Bible is not erased.”
The continued construction at the Hasmonean Palaces site serves as a burning warning sign to the Israeli government. Without determined and immediate enforcement, one of the most magnificent testimonies to the Hasmonean and Herodian periods will disappear under Palestinian concrete.