Ibrahim Jaber Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities undersecretary urged UNESCO to take the archaeological sites in the Gaza Strip into consideration in terms of rehabilitation and preservation.
A number of archaeological sites in the Gaza Strip stand on the verge of extinction especially after witnessing three wars in less than ten years Jaber pointed out during a visit to the Byzantine church site north of the Gaza Strip.
Jaber however warned of the lack of materials needed to rehabilitate and preserve these sites from the winter season due to Israel’s refusal to allow entry of maintenance materials. He said that such a step reflects Israel’s systemic targeting of Gaza’s monuments and archaeological sites.
“The Ministry is using all its limited resources to protect the archaeological sites” he said while expressing surprise regarding the international organizations’ silence vis-à-vis the Israeli practices against the archaeological sites in the Gaza Strip.
Jaber urged the concerned parties to take a stand against Israel’s policies of destruction by pressuring it to open the border crossings before necessary maintenance material for the purposes of rehabilitating the archaeological sites in Gaza.
