A construction vehicle was confiscated after an inspector found that the Palestinian Authority had begun paving roads on the ruins of the historic site.
By JNS
The Palestinian Authority has begun building a neighborhood on the site of Joshua’s Altar on Mount Ebal in northern Samaria, Channel 12 reported.
An inspector from the Samaria Regional Council’s Lands Department on Sunday discovered that the P.A. has started paving roads as part of a project for 32 housing units on the ruins of the historic site, which is mentioned in the books of Deuteronomy and Joshua in the Hebrew Bible.
Following the revelation, Israel’s Civil Administration said that the construction vehicle operating on the site had been confiscated and that the archaeologist in charge of antiquities affairs in Judea and Samaria had opened an investigation.
The site, near Shechem (Nablus), is in Area B of Judea and Samaria per the Oslo Accords, which falls under P.A. administrative control and joint P.A.-Israeli security control.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in January that Israel would not allow Palestinians to damage the archaeological site.
In a letter sent to Knesset member Limor Son Har-Melech (Otzma Yehudit), Gallant wrote that he had instructed the IDF to carry out frequent patrols in the area, and to prevent any activity which could damage the site.
Israeli officials said in March that Palestinian road construction had damaged the ancient town of Sebastia, one of the major archaeological sites of the Holy Land, which served as the capital of the Kingdom of Israel nearly three millennia ago.