{"id":2002,"date":"2024-01-22T12:36:05","date_gmt":"2024-01-22T12:36:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/?p=2002"},"modified":"2024-01-22T12:36:05","modified_gmt":"2024-01-22T12:36:05","slug":"antiquities-in-gaza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/antiquities-in-gaza\/","title":{"rendered":"IDF Invites Israel Antiquities Authority\u00a0to Gaza\u00a0following “discovery” of\u00a0Antiquities Storage Facility"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yesterday, Sunday, January 21st<\/sup>, the director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, Eli Eskozido, shared on his Telegram and Instagram accounts a video showing\u00a0soldiers examining a collection of antiquities in Gaza. The video contained a graphic “wow!” and a text explaining that the Deputy Director of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) was sent to Gaza to examine a storeroom containing antiquities.<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/a>

Screenshot of Instagram and telegram story posted yesterday by Eli Eskozido Director of the IAA.<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

\n

Celebrating a so-called “discovery” of a collection in the context of a war that has so far resulted in the destruction of hundreds of historical and archaeological sites and artifacts is in bad taste to say the least.<\/p>\n

\n

The storeroom, it emerged, belongs\u00a0to the\u00a0\u00c9cole Biblique et Arch\u00e9ologique Fran\u00e7aise<\/a>\u00a0(EBAF).\u00a0Founded in 1890 in Jerusalem, it prides itself in being “the oldest biblical archaeological research centre in the Holy Land”. For 30 years the EBAF\u00a0has been conducting archaeological excavations and restoration projects in Gaza in collaboration with local Palestinian archaeologists. Their work has focused on three important sites:<\/p>\n

Tel\u00a0Umm el-Amer (Monastery de Saint Hilarion<\/u><\/strong>) \u2013 an ancient monastery 10 kilometers south of Gaza’s Old City. The site is named after Saint Hilarion, considered a native of Gaza and the founder of monasticism in the region. The site contains remains from periods spanning from the late-Roman to the Umayyad period including five churches, a bath and elaborate mosaics. It was discovered in archaeological excavations in 1999. Tel Umm Amer\/St. Hilarion Monastery had\u00a0been undergoing restoration over the past four years. Since 2012, it has been included on UNESCO’s Tentative List of World Heritage Sites. In response to an urgent request by the Palestinian\u00a0Authority, it received\u00a0enhanced p<\/a>rotection<\/a>\u00a0from UNESCO in December. However reports from earlier this month suggest that it was nevertheless\u00a0damaged<\/a>\u00a0in the bombing.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>Mukheitim Byzantine Church in Jabaliya,<\/strong>\u00a0recently<\/a>\u00a0restored and opened to the public in \u00a0what the EBAF\u00a0described as “giving back the Palestinian heritage to the Palestinians.” According to\u00a0ICOMOS\u2019 Arab Regional Group<\/a>\u00a0it was also damaged in the bombings.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0Ancient Anthedon\/Balakhiya<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 the Iron Age Harbor also on UNESCO’s Tentative List of World Heritage Sites. The EBAF had been excavating\u00a0the site since 1995. Hamas training facilities had apparently caused\u00a0damage<\/a>\u00a0to the site in 2013. Al Jazeera\u00a0reported<\/a>\u00a0last week that the site had been damaged by the bombings.<\/p>\n

The 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict<\/a>\u00a0outlines a series of obligatory measures which\u00a0the warring\u00a0parties must take\u00a0for the purpose of\u00a0protecting\u00a0cultural properties from the devastation of war. According to the convention, it is forbidden for the invading party to remove cultural property from the territory in question unless it is deemed absolutely necessary for the protection of\u00a0the said property. Both Israel and Palestine ratified the convention but Israel has not signed the\u00a0second<\/a>\u00a0of the two protocols (1999).<\/p>\n

In response to our\u00a0posts<\/a>\u00a0about the event in which we expressed\u00a0our concern that the IAA demonstrated a disregard for international law,\u00a0 we were approached by the director of the Israel Antiquities Authority\u00a0who asked to clarify the purpose of his\u00a0deputy’s visit to Gaza as follows: “The Israel Antiquities Authority was asked by the IDF to examine a storeroom in Gaza containing ancient artifacts or artifacts which appear to be ancient. An initial examination by an archaeologist was conducted and a written report will be submitted to the IDF in due course. The artifacts have been left in place. The Israel Antiquities Authority asked the IDF to protect the artifacts in situ.”<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Following this statement, in a late-night program aired last night, a document with recommendations by the IAA to the military\u00a0regarding the storeroom was revealed. The two main recommendations included in this document were: 1. “Following\u00a0to concerns over theft and destruction, it is recommended to move the artifacts to a temporary custody, somewhere safe. The Israel Antiquities Authority can assist with moving and guarding the items in the Rockefeller compound.\u00a02. It is recommended to visit the storeroom again with an expanded team of archaeologists in order to examine the content of the boxes which have not yet been examined.”<\/p>\n

\n

These recommendations contradict the content of the messages imparted\u00a0to Emek Shaveh. Following the program, Emek Shaveh requested clarifications from the IAA which\u00a0maintained that the official position is\u00a0to protect the artifacts in situ and not to bring them into Israel. However, the fact that the IAA has offered two different positions within\u00a0a short timeframe and in light of its conduct in the past with regards to\u00a0artifacts originating in\u00a0occupied territories<\/a>\u00a0we wonder\u00a0whether\u00a0the official position will\u00a0be followed through. We will continue to follow up on this matter and issue updates accordingly.<\/p>\n

Gaza contains\u00a0hundreds of heritage sites:<\/a>\u00a0antiquities sites, historic buildings, museums, cultural centers, archives, monuments and libraries. According to some estimates, 60% have suffered extensive damage or have been destroyed over the past three months including key historic sites such as the al\u00a0Omari Mosque and the Church of St. Porphyrius.<\/p>\n

As in our\u00a0previous update<\/a>\u00a0about destruction in Gaza, we wish to reiterate that the heritage sites in Gaza belong to the people of Gaza. However, the shocking level of devastation of heritage sites in Gaza is not only a terrible loss for the people of Gaza and the Palestinian people but for\u00a0all people who live in and share this land.<\/p>\n

\n

We call on the government of Israel to take all possible measures to fulfill its obligations in accordance with international law and to protect cultural heritage sites and cultural properties in Gaza. We remind all parties that using cultural sites for military purposes can be considered a war crime under international law.<\/p>\n

We also call on the diplomatic and international community as a whole to work towards a ceasefire and an end to hostilities between the parties. The heinous attack on Israelis by the Hamas on October 7th and the subsequent Israeli offensive on Gaza has resulted in unfathomable death and destruction. The devastation of Gaza\u2019s cultural heritage landscape will remain a tragic reminder of this war for generations to come.<\/p>\n

Lastly, yesterday\u2019s post by the director of the IAA showed that despite the massive amount of destruction, there are many cultural assets still spread across the Gaza Strip. Therefore, we call on the law enforcement bodies around the world\u00a0to be on high alert for antiquities originating in\u00a0Gaza. Wars, especially those which entail the breakdown of governance, almost always result in the theft and trade in stolen antiquities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yesterday, Sunday, January 21st, the director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, Eli Eskozido, shared on his Telegram and Instagram accounts a video showing\u00a0soldiers examining a collection of antiquities in Gaza. The video contained a graphic “wow!” and a text explaining that the Deputy Director of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) was sent to Gaza to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2005,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"class_list":["post-2002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-publications","tag-gaza","tag-israel-antiquities-authority"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIDF Invites Israel Antiquities Authority\u00a0to Gaza\u00a0following "discovery" of\u00a0Antiquities Storage Facility - Emek Shaveh<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/antiquities-in-gaza\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"IDF Invites Israel Antiquities Authority\u00a0to Gaza\u00a0following "discovery" of\u00a0Antiquities Storage Facility - Emek Shaveh\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Yesterday, Sunday, January 21st, the director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, Eli Eskozido, shared on his Telegram and Instagram accounts a video showing\u00a0soldiers examining a collection of antiquities in Gaza. The video contained a graphic “wow!” and a text explaining that the Deputy Director of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) was sent to Gaza to […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/antiquities-in-gaza\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Emek Shaveh\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-01-22T12:36:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/\u05db\u05ea\u05d5\u05d1\u05ea-\u05d9\u05d5\u05d5\u05e0\u05d9\u05ea.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"960\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"manager\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"manager\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/antiquities-in-gaza\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/antiquities-in-gaza\/\",\"name\":\"IDF Invites Israel Antiquities Authority\u00a0to Gaza\u00a0following \\\"discovery\\\" of\u00a0Antiquities Storage Facility - Emek Shaveh\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/antiquities-in-gaza\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/antiquities-in-gaza\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/\u05db\u05ea\u05d5\u05d1\u05ea-\u05d9\u05d5\u05d5\u05e0\u05d9\u05ea.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-01-22T12:36:05+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/6021f1b31987f98dde356582620fe60d\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/antiquities-in-gaza\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/antiquities-in-gaza\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/antiquities-in-gaza\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/\u05db\u05ea\u05d5\u05d1\u05ea-\u05d9\u05d5\u05d5\u05e0\u05d9\u05ea.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/\u05db\u05ea\u05d5\u05d1\u05ea-\u05d9\u05d5\u05d5\u05e0\u05d9\u05ea.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":960},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/antiquities-in-gaza\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"IDF Invites Israel Antiquities Authority\u00a0to Gaza\u00a0following “discovery” of\u00a0Antiquities Storage Facility\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Emek Shaveh\",\"description\":\"Archeology in the shadow of the conflict\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/6021f1b31987f98dde356582620fe60d\",\"name\":\"manager\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c0c3df5a375b78fa6bfd32b87ef4b60a6c799d8d9bb9fe66577ac18942cdf770?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c0c3df5a375b78fa6bfd32b87ef4b60a6c799d8d9bb9fe66577ac18942cdf770?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"manager\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/author\/manager\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"IDF Invites Israel Antiquities Authority\u00a0to Gaza\u00a0following \"discovery\" of\u00a0Antiquities Storage Facility - Emek Shaveh","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/antiquities-in-gaza\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"IDF Invites Israel Antiquities Authority\u00a0to Gaza\u00a0following \"discovery\" of\u00a0Antiquities Storage Facility - Emek Shaveh","og_description":"Yesterday, Sunday, January 21st, the director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, Eli Eskozido, shared on his Telegram and Instagram accounts a video showing\u00a0soldiers examining a collection of antiquities in Gaza. The video contained a graphic “wow!” and a text explaining that the Deputy Director of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) was sent to Gaza to […]","og_url":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/antiquities-in-gaza\/","og_site_name":"Emek Shaveh","article_published_time":"2024-01-22T12:36:05+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":960,"url":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/\u05db\u05ea\u05d5\u05d1\u05ea-\u05d9\u05d5\u05d5\u05e0\u05d9\u05ea.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"manager","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"manager","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/antiquities-in-gaza\/","url":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/antiquities-in-gaza\/","name":"IDF Invites Israel Antiquities Authority\u00a0to Gaza\u00a0following \"discovery\" of\u00a0Antiquities Storage Facility - Emek Shaveh","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/antiquities-in-gaza\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/antiquities-in-gaza\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/\u05db\u05ea\u05d5\u05d1\u05ea-\u05d9\u05d5\u05d5\u05e0\u05d9\u05ea.jpg","datePublished":"2024-01-22T12:36:05+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/6021f1b31987f98dde356582620fe60d"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/antiquities-in-gaza\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/antiquities-in-gaza\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en","@id":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/antiquities-in-gaza\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/\u05db\u05ea\u05d5\u05d1\u05ea-\u05d9\u05d5\u05d5\u05e0\u05d9\u05ea.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/\u05db\u05ea\u05d5\u05d1\u05ea-\u05d9\u05d5\u05d5\u05e0\u05d9\u05ea.jpg","width":1280,"height":960},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/antiquities-in-gaza\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"IDF Invites Israel Antiquities Authority\u00a0to Gaza\u00a0following “discovery” of\u00a0Antiquities Storage Facility"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/","name":"Emek Shaveh","description":"Archeology in the shadow of the conflict","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/6021f1b31987f98dde356582620fe60d","name":"manager","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en","@id":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c0c3df5a375b78fa6bfd32b87ef4b60a6c799d8d9bb9fe66577ac18942cdf770?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c0c3df5a375b78fa6bfd32b87ef4b60a6c799d8d9bb9fe66577ac18942cdf770?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"manager"},"url":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/author\/manager\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2002"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2002\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2005"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}