A 70% cutback in law enforcement by Israel’s Civil
Administration due to the coronavirus pandemic is allowing
“irreversible” damage to irreplaceable historical artifacts in
Judea and Samaria, the area under the Palestinian Authority known
as the West Bank.
Antiquities thieves and treasure hunters targeting world
heritage sites have gone on “an unfettered rampage,”
reports Breaking Israel News.
The illegal excavations on an unprecedented scale have prompted
protest from a watchdog organization called Preserving the Eternal,
which is calling on Israeli Minister of Defense Naftali Bennett to
deploy inspectors.
The group, dedicated to the “preservation of the physical record
of Israel’s history in Judea and Samaria,” reported pirate
excavations at a cave in the Har Kabir Nature Reserve, between Elon
Moreh and the Jordan Valley.
It’s an “Area C” zone of the Palestinian territories, meaning
Israel has full jurisdiction.
An inspection this week revealed “three new openings had been
dug into the cave, bored through the stone wall that protected the
depths of the cave and its irreplaceable artifacts.”
BIN said it wasn’t the only report in recent days of massive
damage to unprotected archaeological sites.
“Ein Samia in the eastern Binyamin region, where particularly
rare and unique artifacts have been found, is currently undergoing
an onslaught of destruction at the hands of treasure hunters.”
Other incidents have been reported atKhirbet Marjama, which
houses the remains of a city dated to the Israelite Kingdom
era.
Preserving the Eternal, according to BIN, “alerted the chief
archaeology officer to a team of thieves that had been digging at
Khirbet ‘Alamit near the entrance to Jerusalem, and through a
swift, concerted effort the band of thieves was apprehended.”
Eitan Melet, a spokesman for the preservation organization, told
BIN: “The state of Israel is now in a full-scale battle against the
coronavirus pandemic, but we must not lose sight of the day after.
We cannot neglect our eternal treasures.”
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Coronavirus closures allowing destruction of ancient Israel
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