Perpetual neglect jeopardizes Gaza’s archaeological sites
Successive governments have failed to attend to Gaza’s heritage, often neglecting it and effacing the country’s archaeological history.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Some of the Gaza Strip's most precious historical sites, dating back thousands of years, are being devastated not only by the targeted bombardments of repeated wars, but also from long-term government neglect.
"In addition to the Israeli attacks, cultural heritage, as well as Islamic and Christian archaeological sites, suffer from significant violations due to the neglect of successive governments,” Nasser al-Yafawi, an expert on history and heritage in the Gaza Strip, told Al-Monitor.
He added, “These governments failed to preserve the Palestinian heritage in Gaza. They left heritage sites exposed to looting, pillaging and effacement without providing the minimal level of care that is worthy of the civilization that these sites and old buildings represent.”
Given the large number of invasions and battles that have taken place, Gaza is a combination of historical civilizations — "a point of convergence between Egypt and the Levant," said Yafawi, who is also a member of the commission tasked with preparing the Palestinian history and contemporary issues curriculum. "This turned it into a melting pot for various cultures, including the Assyrian, Pharaonic, Byzantine, Romanian, Greek, Crusader and Islamic cultures.”
