Gaza — Israeli Bar Ilan research university announced Aug. 29 the discovery of a 4,000-year-old archaeological village in ​​Khirbet Tibneh, located in Deir Nidham village, northwest of Ramallah.

The excavations, which began in late July, are the first of their kind in the West Bank since the 1980s. Authorization was granted by the Israeli Civil Administration's Archaeology Unit. The move stirred outrage in Palestine, since Palestinians believe the works are part of Israel's systematic policy of targeting archaeological areas in the West Bank and appropriating Palestinian antiquities since 1967.

Excavation works were carried out over an area of 50 dunums (about 12 acres). The hill summit was inhabited from the Bronze Age until the Roman era, and the slopes were inhabited from the Hellenistic period to the late Arab era, according to the university. 

Students from Bar-Ilan University and a number of settlers from the Jewish Halamish settlement did the excavation. Eyewitnesses told Ultra Palestine news website that the Israeli army also deployed in the area, along with the excavation workers.