Another attack on the heritage sites of Sebastia in Samaria: in recent days, dozens of Palestinians have come to a display operation of taking over the Old Samaria National Park in Sebastia.
During the operation, they carried out what they defined as "renovation", during which they deliberately destroyed antiquities.
Also, next to the site of the national park, the rioters built a huge mast on the antiquities and hung a PLO flag on it, as well as other flags around the site.
In the Samaria National Park, which is located in areas C, there are important historical remains from the First Temple period, which are attributed to the capital of Samaria from the time of King Ahab of Israel.
Ancient Samaria was the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Israel.
According to tradition and the Bible, it was founded by King Omri of Israel, who bought the place. Archaeological excavations revealed the remains of a magnificent palace, considered one of the largest in the region.
According to the accepted opinion in research, the palace was built by Omri and his son Ahab.
The site of the archaeological excavations was declared a national park, and is managed by the Nature and National Parks Authority.
The area of the garden is about 218 dunams.
Remains from different periods can be seen there, especially the remains of public buildings and worship centers from the Herodian/Roman period, as well as sections of Hellenistic fortifications and towers.
Also, today there are remains of a street of columns (cardo) that served as a commercial center.
The vandalism was carried out in broad daylight by dozens of Palestinians, during a course organized by the Palestinian Authority.
In a post published on the village's Facebook page, they are proud of the vandalism, publish photos of it and write: "Sebastia is thriving, its administration has proven that it is able to face challenges and persevere towards more prosperity."
Later it is written: "Continuing".
"There will be a cry for generations"
The Samaria Regional Council, which exposed the vandalism, reacts sharply to the repeated attacks on the spot.
The head of the council, Yossi Dagan, defined this as the erasure of Jewish heritage: "The Israeli government is abandoning the most important heritage sites of the Jewish people. It is impossible for rioters to come to the heart of the State of Israel and corrupt the history of the Jewish people. This is an attack on Israel's heritage. Our past is being erased before our eyes , the history and the heritage. This will be a cry for generations," he said.
"The Israeli government abandons the heritage sites".
Yossi Dagan, photo: Samaria Regional Council
Dagan added, and called on the incoming government: "We all hope that the new government and the minister designated for heritage affairs will stop the lawlessness in the area. I call on them: take the preservation and restoration of the heritage sites as a national project. I also call on the security system and the IDF to put a guard in place, and also to put Prosecute the violators.
This is a war on the history of the Jewish people, we must not sit on the sidelines," added Dagan.
The vandalism joins the series of vandalisms and previous incidents of damage to the national site in Sebastia, and other historical heritage sites in Samaria.
A few months ago, large parts of the national park in Sebastia were burned, and a lot of damage was caused to the antiquities and the archaeological finds there.
On top of that, graffiti in Arabic was sprayed on the spot.
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