An article published by Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs lists the most important sites excavated in the last 25 years, according to a couple of archaeologists. The article’s introduction, however, contains some information perhaps as valuable as the list itself. Quoting Jon Seligman, the head of excavations and surveys for the Israel Antiquities Authority, the article reports:

The IAA supervises about 300 annual excavations, accounting for about 95 percent of all the archeological digs in Israel. The digs usually take place at mounds composed of the remains of ancient settlements (tel in Hebrew). “We have 30 excavations every day,” says Seligman. Israel is so rich in archeology that even at this pace, he adds, “We can carry on for many more years.”
[…]
The digging, discovery and analyzing is part of a carefully considered process, Seligman stresses. “We have to look not only at what we excavate but also at what we don’t. We do the minimal amount necessary, since excavation is a destructive process and we have to think about what we must leave for future generations,” he explains.
“In general, we try to keep material at the site in its context, and only consider bringing things to a museum when there is no alternative. A mosaic, for example, is meant to be on a floor, not hanging on a wall.”
Not every excavation site is preserved for public viewing. “Maintenance is expensive, so we can’t afford to make each into a presentation site,” Seligman says. Those that aren’t developed into national parks are covered over after the archeologists have finished their investigations.

The list of “best finds” is more of a list of sites, and the 16 sites were selected by Seligman and Aren Maeir. They include: Hazor, Dan, Rehov, Mishmar David, Ramla, Herodium, Yiftach-El, Tel Kabri, Hilazon Cave, Te’omim Cave, Khirbet Qeiyafa, Tell es-Safi, Ramat Rahel, Omrit, Khirbet Wadi Hamam, and Jaffa.

The most glaring omission from the list is the City of David, with the discovery of the Middle Bronze fortifications, cuneiform tablet, fish bones, and Pool of Siloam. Other sites that I would judge as of greater significance in the last 25 years of excavation than some listed above are Bethsaida (et-Tell), Hippos, Sepphoris, Dor, Caesarea, Mount Gerizim, and Beth Shemesh.

Strafor Global Intelligence has an interesting analysis of how Israel’s geographical realities have affected its political situation in biblical times as well as today. It’s an interesting read. The article begins:

The founding principle of geopolitics is that place — geography — plays a significant role in determining how nations will behave. If that theory is true, then there ought to be a deep continuity in a nation’s foreign policy. Israel is a laboratory for this theory, since it has existed in three different manifestations in roughly the same place, twice in antiquity and once in modernity. If geopolitics is correct, then Israeli foreign policy, independent of policymakers, technology or the identity of neighbors, ought to have important common features. This is, therefore, a discussion of common principles in Israeli foreign policy over nearly 3,000 years.

The article discusses the importance of the Levant as a land bridge:

The Levant in general and Israel in particular has always been a magnet for great powers. No Mediterranean empire could be fully secure unless it controlled the Levant. Whether it was Rome or Carthage, a Mediterranean empire that wanted to control both the northern and southern littorals needed to anchor its eastern flank on the Levant. For one thing, without the Levant, a Mediterranean power would be entirely dependent on sea lanes for controlling the other shore. Moving troops solely by sea creates transport limitations and logistical problems. It also leaves imperial lines vulnerable to interdiction — sometimes merely from pirates, a problem that plagued Rome’s sea transport. A land bridge, or a land bridge with minimal water crossings that can be easily defended, is a vital supplement to the sea for the movement of large numbers of troops. Once the Hellespont is crossed, the coastal route through southern Turkey, down the Levant and along the Mediterranean’s southern shore, provides such an alternative.

There is much more, and I recommend the article to students of geography. I might also point out a few critical geopolitical principles that the author neglected to mention.

“Woe to those…who do not look to the Holy One of Israel…the Egyptians are men and not God” (Isaiah 31:1).
“If you fully obey the Lord your God…the Lord will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you” (Deut 28:1,7).