Israel steals artefacts from Roman palace in Hebron

Israeli occupation forces along with employees from the Israeli Ministry of Antiquities and Civil Administration staff raided Mowaraq Palace in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron stealing collectables, Quds Press reported yesterday.

Palestinian sources said occupation forces stole some of the bricks and collectables in the Roman palace, which is one of the oldest heritage sites in Palestine.

A large number of Israeli troops were deployed around the palace while the employees of the Israeli Ministry of Antiquities carried out digging and search for a period of about five hours.

Read: Egypt recovers two artefacts seized by Israel

Quds Press said that the Israeli occupation settlers regularly raid the Roman palace, especially during Jewish holidays, and perform Talmudic rituals there.

The Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Antiquities consider this palace one of the most important remains of the Roman era. The Palestinian Authority renovated the palace in 2010 and cleaned it in 2015 in cooperation with UNESCO.

OPINION: Archaeology as a tool of the occupation