Nusaiba Mubarak is the Middle East advocacy and policy director at American Friends Service Committee, where she engages members of Congress on demilitarization and Middle East policy. Beyond briefings and legislative meetings, Nusaiba leads constituent delegations to Washington, D.C., ensuring that the demands of local U.S. communities and the voices of those on the ground in the Middle East remain central to policy conversations.

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How Israel Is Using Archaeology to Confiscate Palestinian Land

by Nusaiba Mubarak 03-17-2026
A Palestinian child plays at the archaeological site of Sebastia, west of Nablus in the West Bank. The Israeli government has stated its intentions to take 1,800 dunams (approximately 450 acres) of land in Sebastia, claiming it is designated for the construction of a park owned by Jews. Credit: Nasser Ishtayeh/Reuters

On Feb. 15, Israel’s Cabinet approved a measure that would allow the state to exert more control over the occupied West Bank. The measure makes it easier for settlers to occupy Palestinian territory.

Last spring, I traveled to Sebastia, an ancient Palestinian village outside Nablus in the occupied Palestinian West Bank. It is among the oldest continuously inhabited places in the region. Beginning over 5,000 years ago during the second Iron Age, the residents of Sebastia have lived through the ancient Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman eras. Sebastia is home to significant religious sites for Muslims, Jews, and Christians, including a Byzantine church and mosque said to be the burial site of St. John the Baptist, also known as the Prophet Yahya.