PA Minister of Tourism: Israel, not Hamas, is behind destruction of archaeological sites in Gaza in order to “erase the Palestinian narrative in the face of the occupation’s false Israeli narrative”
Headline: “Tel Es-Sakan…”
“In 1998, the PA appointed a French delegation… to conduct excavations at the Tel Es-Sakan archaeological site, which is in the Al-Zahra area in the south of the city of Gaza, but these days it is being leveled and destroyed, despite the decision of the [PA] Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities that defines this as a crime.
[PA] Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Rula Maa’yaa emphasized yesterday [Nov. 15, 2017] that, ‘All of the activities of leveling the ground and destruction at the Tel Es-Sakan archaeological site are illegal,’ and that, ‘The ones responsible for this will be put on trial before the Palestinian legal system’…
Historians and experts say that this is an archaeological site from the ancient Bronze Age (3,300-2,300 BCE), and that it is the most ancient fortified Egyptian administrative center in Palestine…
Maa’yaa emphasized that there is no connection between these activities and the Palestinian people, its history, tradition, and customs, which are expressed by preserving Palestinian history and the historical and archaeological sites in Palestine throughout the periods. She said that those who are doing this are pawns of the occupation (sic., Hamas has been destroying the site to create military bases), who are serving to erase the Palestinian narrative in the face of the occupation’s false Israeli narrative, according to which it has first rights to the land of Palestine, and this is by destroying the archaeological and historical sites in Palestine.”
“In 1998, the PA appointed a French delegation… to conduct excavations at the Tel Es-Sakan archaeological site, which is in the Al-Zahra area in the south of the city of Gaza, but these days it is being leveled and destroyed, despite the decision of the [PA] Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities that defines this as a crime.
[PA] Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Rula Maa’yaa emphasized yesterday [Nov. 15, 2017] that, ‘All of the activities of leveling the ground and destruction at the Tel Es-Sakan archaeological site are illegal,’ and that, ‘The ones responsible for this will be put on trial before the Palestinian legal system’…
Historians and experts say that this is an archaeological site from the ancient Bronze Age (3,300-2,300 BCE), and that it is the most ancient fortified Egyptian administrative center in Palestine…
Maa’yaa emphasized that there is no connection between these activities and the Palestinian people, its history, tradition, and customs, which are expressed by preserving Palestinian history and the historical and archaeological sites in Palestine throughout the periods. She said that those who are doing this are pawns of the occupation (sic., Hamas has been destroying the site to create military bases), who are serving to erase the Palestinian narrative in the face of the occupation’s false Israeli narrative, according to which it has first rights to the land of Palestine, and this is by destroying the archaeological and historical sites in Palestine.”