November 13, 2002	Wednesday	Ramazan 7, 1423

PARIS, Nov 12: Jean-Yves Marin, president of ICAHM — the Unesco-affiliated International Committee on Archeological and Historical Museums — has taken to the media to denounce what he characterizes as the wanton and repeated destruction by Israel of the archeological treasures of Palestine.

Besides bewailing the systematic destruction by the Israel Army of a plethora of archeological treasures located in Palestine and on the West Bank — treasures which include Roman and Byzantine monuments, as well as the vestiges of the Ottoman, Ayyoubide and Mameluk presence in the sector — Mr Marin, in recent articles in French dailies La Croix and Le Figaro, says that he is particularly worried that the recent discovery of wholly new aspects of the area’s historical past may very well be compromised too if nothing is done to stop the Israeli army from destroying the Palestinian cultural past.

For example, according to the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Tourism, a sixth-century Byzantine sanctuary has just been discovered at Balakhia, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip — which notably possesses a magnificent 35-meter long mosaic bearing ancient Greek descriptions. Such treasures could easily be destroyed before they are properly preserved, he suggests, if nothing is done to persuade Israel to not systematically undertake their destruction.

Mr Marin notes that “it is too early to be able to determine what is being destroyed as a result of war, and what is being destroyed deliberately,” and goes on to propose that an ad hoc commission of experts be sent “urgently” to Palestine to be able to determine what if anything can be done to stop the wholesale destruction of the Palestinian cultural heritage, which, he suggests, could be largely avoided if Israel so desired.