[News] Israel: army displays artifacts stolen from Gaza in the Knesset

[Anti-Imperialist News]

middleeastmonitor.com
<https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20240122-israel-army-displays-artefacts-stolen-from-gaza-in-the-knesset/>
Israel: army displays artefacts stolen from Gaza in the Knesset
Middle East Monitor
January 22, 2024
------------------------------

The Israel Defence Forces has been caught displaying artefacts stolen from
Gaza in the Israeli parliament, known as the Knesset. The Director of the
Israel Antiquities Authority, Eli Askozido, shared images on his official
Instagram account, stating that Israeli soldiers contacted the authority to
examine a warehouse in Gaza. In a post of the display at the Knesset, he
wrote, “A small showcase was placed in the Knesset.”

Moreover, he published a video, revealing Israeli soldiers raiding a
warehouse filled with antiquities, which he celebrated in his caption that
stated: “Good week, the deputy director of the Antiquities Authority was
rushed to Gaza to check a warehouse full of antiques. Thank you to warrior
Moshe Agami.”

However, the post featuring the Knesset display is no longer on his profile
and he has since posted the following statement: “The IDF called upon the
Israel Antiquities to inspect a warehouse in Gaza housing ancient items or
those appearing to be ancient. An initial examination was conducted by an
archaeologist, and a comprehensive written report will be submitted to the
IDF later. The items were left undisturbed at the site.”

Gaza, currently under Israeli bombardment, is rich in antiquities
<https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20140220-archaeological-discovery-in-gaza-dating-back-eight-centuries/>.
It has been an important trading post for many civilisations, from as far
back as the ancient Egyptians and the Philistines depicted in the Bible,
through to the Roman Empire and the Crusades.

Pro-Palestinian activist Khaled Yousry slammed Askozido, pointing out: “The
theft of antiquities is considered a war crime according to international
law. The illicit trade of cultural properties, including antiquities, is a
crime under the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Measures to be Taken to
Prevent the Import, Export, and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property.”

Israel launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip following a
cross-border attack by Hamas on 7 October. The Israeli offensive has killed
at least 25,295 Palestinians and injured 63,000. Nearly 1,200 Israelis are
believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack, many of them, it has been
revealed by *Haaretz*
<https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20231211-another-israel-witness-confirms-israeli-tanks-killed-own-citizens-on-7-october/>,
were killed by helicopters and tanks of the Israeli army rather than the
Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, as was originally claimed by
Israel.

The Israeli offensive has left 85 per cent of Gaza’s population internally
displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60
per cent of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed,
according to the UN.
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