Jerusalem, 8 February, 2022 (TPS) — Following an undercover and intelligence operation, the IDF’s Civil Administration arrested an antiques bandit and dealer in the Shechem (Nablus) area and confiscated thousands of rare finds valued at hundreds of thousands of shekels, including rare coins from the beginning of the appearance of coins in Israel.

In a unique operation conducted on Monday and following an undercover investigation that was conducted with the Border Police and IDF in recent months, the Civil Administration arrested an Arab man in the village of Klil in the Shechem area on suspicion of robbery and antiquities trade.

As part of the operation, the Israeli forces confiscated thousands of coins and rare archeological finds dating to various periods, including finds from the Persian period, the Hellenistic period, and coins from the period of the Great Revolt against the Rona in 70 CE, that are valued at hundreds of thousands of shekels.

The forces also confiscated equipment that was used by the suspect in the theft of the antiquities. An indictment against the dealer is currently being formulated and will be submitted to the military prosecutor’s office.

The head of the Civil Administration, Brigadier General Fares Atila stated that the operation is “important and significant” and “constitutes an interruption of the chain of trade in antiquities in Judea and Samaria.”

“The Civil Administration will continue to work tirelessly against the despicable phenomenon of destruction and theft at the archeological sites in Judea and Samaria and protect the historical heritage assets in the area,” he declared.

Antiquities in Judea and Samaria face a constant danger of destruction. Grave robbers and antiquities thieves from the Palestinian Authority (PA) carry out illegal digs and excavations. The phenomenon of antiquity destruction is pervasive and affects all sites that are not under preservation, and a survey of the sites in Judea and Samaria shows that a staggering 95% of the archeological sites have been robbed, vandalized or disturbed.

Findings presented to the Knesset last month show that 90% of the sites that are destroyed are being destroyed by the PA for development purposes, and 10% are destroyed for robbery purposes.

Most recently, unknown individuals from the PA have again caused damage to the Biblical-era site of Yehoshua ben Nun’s Altar on Mount Ebal.

Similarly, Arabs operating an illegal factory in Beit Fajar in Gush Etzion took about two kilometers from a Second Temple period aqueduct and ground it into gravel for construction.

In November 2020, the PA inaugurated a “Palestinian” tourist complex in the town of Sebastia in Samaria, the historic capital of the biblical Kingdom of Israel.

Moshe Guttman, chairman of Shomrim Al Hanetzach, (Preserving Eternity), a watchdog group dedicated to protecting Israel’s archaeological treasures, warned the Knesset’s Education Committee that “our history is being erased. We think the State of Israel is sleeping while standing up and no one is doing anything about it.”