US repatriates 2,700-year-old artifact to Palestine

Culture

Marita Kassis

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas holds a wooden relic reputed to be part of Jesus's manger, as he speaks with the acting Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa during a Christmas midnight mass in the Church of the Nativity, in Bethlehem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank December 25, 2019. (Photo by MUSSA QAWASMA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas holds a wooden relic reputed to be part of Jesus' manger, as he speaks with the acting Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa during a Christmas midnight mass at the Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem, West Bank, Dec. 25, 2019. — Mussa Qawasma/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

The United States repatriated a 2,700-year-old spoon dating to the Assyrian civilization to the Palestinian Authority (PA) this week, in a first such move between the US and Palestine.

The handover took place in Bethlehem on Thursday between American representatives and Palestinian officials, with George Noll, chief of the US Office of Palestinian Affairs, and Rula Maayah, Palestinian minister of tourism and antiquities.

According to a report by The New York Times, a legal investigation was launched into stolen antiquities that led to the return of the artifact.

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US repatriates 2,700-year-old artifact to Palestine

The United States repatriates a stolen artifact to Palestine — a historic move between the two countries.

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