Three Other Suspects Succeeded in Escaping after Struggling with the Inspectors
 
The members of the gang, residents of the village of Beit Ulla, located beyond the Green Line, were apprehended this weekend after struggling with inspectors of the Antiquities Authority. They were in possession of numerous excavating tools and a sophisticated device for detecting metal. During questioning they admitted to committing violations of the Antiquities Law. A short while ago they were brought before a judge in the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court.
 
Inspectors of the Unit for the Prevention of Antiquity Robbery caught the three while they were carrying out an illicit excavation at an ancient site next to Sadot Micah, in the Judean Shephelah. By their actions the suspects have caused irreparable damage to building remains dating to the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods.
 
The director of the Unit for the Prevention of Antiquity Robbery, Amir Ganor, stated that the offenders have caused extensive harm to the cultural heritage of the State of Israel.
 
Last week the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court sentenced three other offenders to a year in prison for similar offenses.