Defense Minister Ezer Weizman warned the Gush Emunim settlers at Shiloh on the West Bank today to start digging or they will be forced to leave the Biblical site in central Samaria. The Gush created an international furor last month when they occupied Shiloh. The government claimed that the group, which includes infants and toddlers and men who commute daily to jobs in Israel, were “archaeologists” in search of antiquities.
But Weizman, briefing the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, said they were there without permission from his ministry and he was ready to dislodge them unless they began archaeological excavations immediately. He acknowledged, however, that he has not received Cabinet approval for such an act.
It was learned, meanwhile, that the “archaeologists” at Shiloh have yet to be given formal approval by the special committee an excavations, the authority that issues permits for archaeological digs. The committee is expected to meet in the next few days.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
