Palestinian killed by Israeli army near Hebron checkpoint
The Israeli army says it has killed a Palestinian who it claimed was trying to stab soldiers at a military checkpoint near Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank.
In a statement, the Israeli army claimed that its forces responded to a reported stabbing attempt at a Hebron-area checkpoint and “neutralised” the assailant. No injuries to soldiers were reported.
Palestinians fear displacement as Israel builds national park
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2025/5/24/palestinians-plan-push-land-israel-builds-national-park
Israel calls it an archaeological project to highlight Jewish heritage and create a new Israeli national park.
Palestinians see it as further evidence of Israel’s plans to annex an ancient town and erase Palestinian history in an area that tells the 5,000-year-old shared story of the peoples who have lived in this land.
Far-right, pro-settler Israeli government ministers were in Sebastia on May 12 as part of a delegation to mark the looming seizure of the town’s archaeological park, one of the largest and most important of 6,000 sites in the West Bank.
Stars of David graffitied on the ancient Hellenic wall in Sebastia
It's Greek and Roman ruins... Neither Jewish nor Palestinian.
The archaeological site includes the ruins of a Byzantine basilica, a Roman forum and amphitheatre, and the Crusader-era Church of St John, which was rebuilt into a mosque – and is believed to be the site of the tomb of John the Baptist, known in the Quran as Prophet Yahya.
Sebastia’s archaeological park, once a tourism hotspot and still a pilgrimage site for Christians, is being considered for inclusion on UNESCO’s world heritage list, subject to an application being finalised by Palestinian officials.
Israeli settlers set fire to 4 hectares of wheat crops in West Bank’s Sebastia
Citing local officials, the Wafa news agency reports the settlers set about four hectares (10 acres) of wheat fields ablaze in the village near Nablus in the north of the occupied West Bank.
The head of the Sebastia municipality, Mohammad Azem, told Wafa the settlers came from the illegal settlement of Shavei Shomron and a nearby settlement outpost.
“Azem said the wheat crop was completely destroyed, causing heavy financial losses for the two farmers,” Wafa said.
Palestinians in the West Bank have experienced a surge in Israeli settler and military violence amid Israel’s war on Gaza.
