Archaeological sites across the West Bank are awaiting their turn to be seized and plundered after the legislative committee in the Israeli Knesset passed the preliminary reading of a draft law, which will grant the Israeli Antiquities Authority (IAA) powers to operate and conduct excavations in the occupied territory. The advancement of the bill may be viewed through the lens of Israel’s ongoing war for total control over the entirety of historic Palestine. Jihad Yassin, director-general of excavations and museums in the Palestinian Tourism and Antiquities Ministry, said to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed…