(Commentary) Seth Mandel - At present, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) only has authority over sites inside pre-1967 Israel, and the military oversees the rest. The Times of Israel reported that a "survey by a group of Palestinian archaeologists in 2024 found evidence of looting at 309 of 440 West Bank sites, according to Salah Al-Houdalieh, an archaeology professor at al-Quds University." The Palestinians admit that Palestinians are regularly looting and destroying artifacts at most of the archaeological sites in the West Bank. Here's just one example of the hundreds of cases of destruction: "The burial grounds of Hasmonean kings - the largest necropolis in the Middle East from the Second Temple period - have been plowed and used for farming and construction. In one case, we found human bones scattered in the fields."
2025-08-28 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive