The Israeli government launched an investigation into whether the Biden administration violated international law, including the Oslo Accords, when it sent a historic artifact to Palestinian authorities last month.
The investigation was launched after a 2,700-year-old spoon was sent from the United States to the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities on Jan. 5, in what the US State Department’s Bureau of Palestinian Affairs said “the first event of such repatriation”. from the United States to the Palestinians.
Israeli Heritage Minister Amihai Eliyahu’s office said the legality of the repatriation “is under review by the archeology staff officer with legal counsel, who will look into all aspects of the matter, including the Oslo Accords that states United have signed”.
It is not immediately clear what impact a review by the ministry’s legal adviser could have. Israel is unlikely to confiscate the artifact, but it could implement a policy to influence future repatriations.
IRAN BLAMES ISRAEL FOR DRONE ATTACK CATCHED ON VIDEO, THREATS OF REPAIR
A 2,700-year-old ivory incense spoon on display at the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023.
(AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
The artifact – an incense spoon made of ivory – is believed to have been smuggled out of the West Bank and later purchased by billionaire New York hedge fund manager Michael Steinhardt
It was one of 180 artifacts seized by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office in late 2021 as part of a deal with Steinhardt to avoid prosecution.
According to court documents, Steinhardt purchased the ivory cosmetic spoon in 2003 from Israeli antiquities dealer Gil Chaya for $6,000. The artifact had no provenance – documents detailing where it came from and how it entered the trader’s inventory – but Chaya said the item came from the West Bank town of El-Koum, which is under the control of the Palestinian Authority.
RUSSIA WARNING ISRAEL NOT TO SUPPLY WEAPONS TO UKRAINE: ‘IT WILL LEAD TO AN ESCALATION OF THIS CRISIS’
Dozens of artifacts delivered by Steinhardt have already been repatriated to Italy, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Jordan, Libya and Israel.
A 2,700-year-old ivory incense spoon looted from a site in the occupied West Bank.
(AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
The spoon was the only item from the collection repatriated to the Palestinians and a historic first for the United States
Another artifact in Steinhardt’s collection — a “red carnelian sunfish amulet (that) dates to about 600 BC” — was taken from the same town as the spoon but remained unaccounted for, according to the District Attorney’s Office. . It will be repatriated to the Palestinians, the office said.
The repatriation coincided with the first weeks of Israel’s new government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
US TRANSFERS STOCKS OF MILITARY WEAPONS FROM ISRAEL TO UKRAINE
The return of the artifact is the latest confrontation between Israel and the Palestinian governing body of the West Bank, which underscores how archeology and cultural heritage are intertwined with competing claims to the territory.
“Any artifacts that we know come from Palestine illegally, we have the right to have them back,” said Jihad Yassin, director general of excavations and museums at the Palestinian ministry of tourism and antiquities. “Each artifact tells a story of the history of this land.”
The dispute over the artifacts comes as Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu was recently sworn in as Israeli prime minister.
(MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)
The ministry operates within the Palestinian Authority, the government of parts of the West Bank established as part of the Oslo Accords in the 1990s.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Agreements between Israel and the Palestinians, such as the Oslo Accords, were supposed to include coordination on issues such as archeology and cultural heritage.
Jihad Yassin, director general of excavations and museums at the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, holds a 2,700-year-old ivory incense spoon.
(AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Many of the deals have unraveled as the two sides often fight. Israel also operates in the West Bank and has disputed claims to heritage sites.
Last year, US authorities returned 28 items to Israel.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
