In the northern West Bank, north of Tapuah Junction, there is a relatively new bypass road that goes around the Arab town of Huwara. There was a time when there were frequent clashes in Hawara, including a number of attacks on Israelis. Now, the bypass road shifts Israeli traffic to a route around the large Palestinian town. This is the northern part of Route 60, the route that historically connects the entire West Bank from north to south. However, much of the historic route has changed due to political shifts here, with Jewish and Arab communities divided.
On the bypass road, there is a place on the map marked as “Luna Park.” It was once a more active amusement park. From the road, the old Ferris wheel and other rides are visible, many of them with chipped paint and rust. It’s like a museum of an amusement park. It is an example of the old and the new here: the Arab villages, the new road, and above it all the ancient hills of Samaria. Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim loom over the landscape, framing the city of Nablus. Both are sites of biblical importance.
A decade ago, I took a drive to find the ruins of the ancient city of Samaria, the capital of what was once the Kingdom of Israel. The site is well known and is located near the city of Nablus in the northern West Bank, the Shomron. In fact, the city of Samaria gives its name to the area. A decade ago, the only way to access this site was through the Palestinian village of Sebastia. One of the nearby roads had a sign saying USAID had contributed to it. It was supposed to be an Israeli national park, but it had long been closed. The site was in disrepair, with ancient walls and parts of the ruins of a once-great city poking out from beneath collapsed walls and trees.
The Israeli government has been saying it wants to redevelop the site. There has been excavation and conservation work, according to reports from 2025. We reported in February that “the Knesset Education, Culture and Sports Committee on Tuesday approved the advancement of a controversial bill to establish a West Bank Heritage Authority to oversee antiquities and heritage sites in the West Bank.” Supposedly, around NIS 30 million was to be allocated for this. Today, the website of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority notes that access to Sebastia, or Tel Shomron, requires coordination and approval from the IDF.
The drive to the Shomron takes about an hour north of Jerusalem
“Tel Shomron preserves the remains of the city of Samaria, the capital of the Kingdom of Israel, and the magnificent remains of the city of Sebastia—the city founded by Herod during the Roman period, which became one of the most important cities in the Land of Israel,” the Parks Authority says. I decided to drive up to see for myself, not just this site but Samaria in general.
There have been many recent reports about the northern West Bank. There have been clashes between Jews and Arabs, and increasing reports of attacks on Palestinians. There is also reportedly an increase in the number of Jewish communities, often called settlements, being built. In some cases, they are being rebuilt, such as at Homesh and Sa-Nur near Jenin. Those areas had been evacuated during the Disengagement in 2005. There are also ongoing terror threats. The IDF uncovered a bomb-making lab in Tulkarm in early April. There is an ongoing debate in Israel over extending “sovereignty” to these areas.
I went to the northern West Bank, the Shomron, on April 30 to see some of these sites. I also wanted to see whether the stories of clashes and conflict were as evident on an average day as they are often portrayed.
The drive to the Shomron takes about an hour north of Jerusalem. The road runs east of Ramallah. There is a sign for Taybeh, the Christian Palestinian village. North of Ramallah, Route 60 passes Turmus Aya, a relatively affluent town. There have been Palestinian municipal elections recently in the West Bank. Route 60 travels between hills, passing the Jewish communities of Shiloh and Eli. It also passes a road that leads to Ma’ale Levona, where there is an old building called Khan Lubban, marked on Waze in Hebrew as Khan Levona. This was one of many khans that once dotted the landscape, some of them serving as caravanserais—traveler inns from the Ottoman period, where travelers could stay. Khan Lubban received attention about a decade ago due to a court case in which a local family sought to maintain it as a private site.
Beyond this area are more Jewish communities such as Yitzhar, Havat Gilad, and Shavei Shomron. The road connecting these communities is a two-lane route, and in some areas, there is far too much traffic for such a small road. It is clear that there is a gradual effort to improve the route. For all the discussion in the media about Israel approving new settlements, it is evident that infrastructure will also need to be upgraded. It is already under strain from both Arab and Jewish traffic. The striking thing about Samaria is that it still appears very rural, even though there are cities such as Nablus here and an apparent expansion of Israeli communities.
The infrastructure has not been updated to handle all the traffic. However, it has been improved to make it easier for drivers traveling between Jewish communities to navigate. Roads are marked by Israeli flags and signs in Hebrew. In some places, Arabic names on the signs have been graffitied over. Signs also instruct drivers which roads lead to Area A, under Palestinian control, and which do not. The goal is to keep Israeli drivers out of Area A, which they are prohibited from entering.
There is no overwhelming sense of ongoing clashes here. That does not mean there is no conflict—it means the visible signs are less apparent than one might expect. Although intersections have cement blocks where soldiers could stand, small checkpoint huts, and barriers that can be lowered, there are very few soldiers visible on the roads. Billboards and signs appear in both Hebrew and Arabic.
I had wanted to drive up to Sebastia, the ancient Shomron, to see whether the archaeological site had changed. Once the capital of the Kingdom of Israel, it was founded by King Omri in the 9th century BCE. It thrived for about a century before being severely damaged by the Neo-Assyrian Empire around 720 BCE. Later revived as a regional administrative center, it was developed further by King Herod and renamed Sebastia. By that time, the northern kingdom’s Jewish tribes had disappeared, and the population included Samaritans. The Samaritans later revolted against the Byzantines in the 5th century. By the time of the Arab conquests, their population had significantly declined, though some remain today atop Mount Gerizim.
Despite this rich history, the landscape bears relatively few visible traces of the many peoples who have lived and fought here. The slow effort to redevelop the site of Sebastia reflects this. I tried to reach Sebastia, but the route appears difficult to access. When one arrives at Shavei Shomron, Israeli traffic is directed into the community. There is no clear way to reach the archaeological site except through Area A. Whatever plans exist to revive the site have not made access straightforward, and as the website notes, coordination with the army is required.
I also considered driving to Homesh and Sa-Nur, the communities near Jenin that were evacuated during the Disengagement twenty years ago but are now being rebuilt. It was not clear from the road signs how to get there, so I abandoned the idea. Instead, I headed back toward Hawara and then toward Elon Moreh, where I had heard there was a good restaurant at Kabir Winery.
The rolling hills here are beautiful in spring. The heavy winter rains have ended. The grass is still green but fading quickly, soon to turn the color of wheat. The northern West Bank is quiet. During the day, there is little sense of active conflict. The hills here are steeper than in the southern West Bank. These mountains are steeped in history. Joshua is said to have built an altar atop Mount Ebal, and there is a tomb attributed to him near Ariel.
To reach Elon Moreh, the road winds through open countryside near Nablus. Arab villages can be seen in the distance, clinging to the base of tall hills. The hilltops are mostly empty, dotted with lone trees, olive groves, and rocky outcrops. A few gray IDF pillboxes, resembling large cylindrical towers, stand at some junctions and hilltops, built decades ago to guard certain areas.
Not much appears to have changed here. However, the road signs clearly indicate directions. Lined with Israeli flags, they signal control in certain areas. One could be forgiven for thinking there is no conflict, even though these hills remain a central arena in the long-standing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.