PA Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities: Israel is stealing Palestinian heritage

Headline: “The [PA] Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities condemns the occupation’s attack on Mt. Eibal”

“The [PA] Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities condemned the fact that the occupation forces and the so-called ‘Israel Antiquities Authority’ (IAA) are continuing the attacks on Palestinian archaeological sites (sic., Mt. Eibal is an archaeological site mentioned in the Bible; the Palestinians have no history prior to the modern period). This is through carrying out excavations and clearing soil as a result of the archaeological excavations at the site of Khirbet Burnat, which is on Mt. Eibal…

The [PA] Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities emphasized that the excavations and clearing of soil by the occupation and its settlers constitute a severe violation and a blow to the Palestinian heritage… as part of settler goals and biblical agendas on the occupied Palestinian lands: Stealing the Palestinian lands and falsifying the facts on the ground, blurring them, and destroying them, especially considering the fact that this heritage constitutes testimony to the Palestinian people’s right to its land…

The ministry contacted the relevant international bodies, foremost among them UNESCO (UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization), in order to force the occupation to stop the destruction and theft of Palestinian heritage, since this heritage is part of the human heritage and it is a duty to preserve it.”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, July 10, 2023]