The Israeli government is facing calls from campaigners to declare sovereignty over ancient Jewish ruins on land in Judea and Samaria that Israel does not plan to include in the blueprint endorsed by US President Donald Trump's peace plan.
An Israeli advocacy group called "Safeguarding Eternity" is worried about what will happen to Jewish archaeological sites in parts of Judea and Samaria not included in Israel's sovereignty bid.
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The group wants Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to guarantee Israeli control over sites such as the remnants of hilltop Hasmonean and Herodian forts dating back two millennia, and hundreds of ruins from earlier Jewish rule.
"This entire plan – it's right, its essence – is the connection of the Jewish people to their land and our heritage," said Eitan Melet, director of Safeguarding Eternity. "If we don't take our heritage sites into account, this plan has no right to exist at all."
Video: Reuters
The government has not commented on the campaigners' demands. The Palestinians reject Trump's blueprint and Israel's plan to annex territory they seek for a future state.
Assaf Avraham, an archeologist at Israel's Bar-Ilan University, said he too was worried about the fate of archaeological sites in the West Bank.
"If these areas are not in the hands or under the sovereignty of (authorities) that know how to take care of and maintain archaeological sites, and which have the motivation to do so, we really fear for these places," he said.
The Palestinian Tourism and Antiquities Ministry dismissed such concerns.
It said in a statement that it is "able to protect and preserve the cultural heritage sites under Palestinian control, as maintenance and restoration work is carried out continuously."
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