Gaza — Israeli Bar Ilan research university announced Aug. 29 the discovery of a 4,000-year-old archaeological village in Khirbet Tibneh, located in Deir Nidham village, northwest of Ramallah.
The excavations, which began in late July, are the first of their kind in the West Bank since the 1980s. Authorization was granted by the Israeli Civil Administration's Archaeology Unit. The move stirred outrage in Palestine, since Palestinians believe the works are part of Israel's systematic policy of targeting archaeological areas in the West Bank and appropriating Palestinian antiquities since 1967.