How Palestine is working to stop antiquities theft
Thousands of artifacts that were smuggled outside the Palestinian territories have been seized in the past years as part of the Palestinian government’s efforts to put a stop to illegal excavations and antiquities trade.
RAMALLAH, West Bank — On March 16, the Palestinian police foiled an attempt to smuggle an antique statue from the city of Nablus in the West Bank to be sold outside the country. A week before, the police had announced the arrest of five people on charges of illegal excavations of antiquities in Jenin. On March 5, the police seized a 2,500-year-old mill in a house in Hebron.
Police spokesman Louay Zreikat told Al-Monitor that thwarting smuggling attempts of antiquities is seen as a major achievement by the police, because in the past it has been easy to smuggle antiquities abroad. Today, Palestinian police have been increasingly able to control and foil these operations.
“We have lost several relics and antique statues in the past. We are better equipped today to track down illegal excavators and thus thwart more smuggling operations. In March, we were able to recover relics that are more than 4,000 years old.”
These smuggling and illegal attempts are nothing new. Since its inception, the Palestinian Authority (PA) has been dealing with ongoing attempts on the part of antiquity dealers stealing relics through illegal excavations. According to Saleh Sawafta, the director general of the Antiquity Protection Department at the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, this has caused the loss and smuggling of hundreds of pieces outside the country, first to Israel and then abroad.
