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Israel, Syria finalize US-supervised accord

miriw — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 10:00:25 +0000

The Syrian Center for Human Rights released overnight the terms of an agreement concluded between Israel and Syria in partnership with the United States.

The published specifics reveal that oversight of the Sweida area, which became the focal point of Syrian regime aggression against the Druze population, will transfer to American control, with US officials committing to ensuring agreement implementation. The arrangement stipulates that all local tribal forces and government forces must withdraw from Druze villages, while Druze units will perform verification sweeps in these communities to confirm compliance.

Druze sheikhs pay condolences for members of al-Quntar family who died in Syria's predominantly Druze city of Sweida, according to the relatives, in al-Mtein, Lebanon July 23, 2025 (Photo: Reuters/Mohamed Azakir) REUTERS

Subsequently, the agreement provides for the establishment of local councils with participation from Sweida residents, with appointed members handling regional resource management and essential services. Additionally, a monitoring and documentation committee will track agreement violations, submitting reports to American officials when necessary.

The accord further mandates that Quneitra and Daraa, located near the Syrian-Israeli border, undergo complete disarmament, with local security committees formed through resident participation, contingent on restricting possession to light weapons only. Syrian government-affiliated organizations or institutions face an entry prohibition to Sweida, while United Nations entities receive authorization for regional access.

I met this evening with the Syrians and Israelis in Paris. Our goal was dialogue and de-escalation, and we accomplished precisely that. All parties reiterated their commitment to continuing these efforts.

— Ambassador Tom Barrack (@USAMBTurkiye) July 24, 2025

Previously, US Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack confirmed his Paris discussions with Syrian and Israeli representatives, declaring, "Our goal was dialogue and de-escalation, and we accomplished precisely that. All parties reiterated their commitment to continuing these efforts."

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Israel Involved in prisoner swap talks between Druze and Bedouin in Syria

omrif — Wed, 23 Jul 2025 08:00:11 +0000

A senior Israeli official has been involved in recent days in negotiations between the Druze and Bedouin communities in Syria over a mutual prisoner exchange. The recent events in Sweida have strengthened Israel's security position that it must continue to maintain control over the buffer zone in Syria in the near term, due to concerns about potential Islamist activity targeting Israeli communities.

According to estimates, there are hundreds of captives on both sides. Israel Hayom has learned that the Israeli official is in contact with members of the Druze community, while third parties, including Americans, are conducting the negotiations with the Syrian regime and the Bedouin side. The hope is that all captives from both sides will be released in the coming days.

Officials involved in the matter argue that the recent violence in Sweida highlights the need for Israel to maintain a military presence in the area it took control of in December 2024. They note that Israeli intelligence had no advance warning that hostile forces - first Syrian regime elements, then Bedouin fighters - were planning to attack the Druze. Likewise, they say, there is no guarantee that Israeli intelligence will detect an Islamist plot to target Israeli towns.

Since the Hamas-led October 7 massacre, Israel's political and defense leadership has repeatedly emphasized the necessity of buffer zones along all its borders to ensure the safety of nearby Israeli communities.

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Bedouins overwhelm Druze defenses in southern Syria

miriw — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 22:00:02 +0000

The war in southern Syria took additional dramatic turns as a massive offensive by Bedouin and Arab tribal militias of Syria pushed Druze forces back toward Sweida city, with an enormous wave of tribal fighters recruited from across the country flooding the southern province.

Fighters from Bedouin tribes ride a motorcycle in al-Mazraa village, in Syria's southern Sweida governorate, as clashes with Druze gunmen continue on July 18, 2025 (Photo: Omar haj Kadour / AFP) AFP

According to a diplomatic source, Israel agreed to allow Syrian regime interior forces to enter the area to maintain order. It remains unclear at this stage what type of force is involved and the scope of the entry.

The tribal fighters were recruited after the Council of Sheikhs of the Bedouin tribes last night called for general mobilization and went into battle against Druze militias in the southern Sweida province. The tribal militias succeeded in capturing at least three large Druze villages, and fighters began setting fire to houses belonging to Druze residents. Thousands of civilians fled the battle zone, northwest of Sweida city.

So far, no Israeli involvement in the developing fighting in the south has been recorded, and it remains unclear whether Israel will assist its Druze allies as it did against the Syrian regime. Damascus denied reports that regime forces would advance back into the Sweida area to enforce order and said they were abiding by ceasefire terms.

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13 suspects in Negev riots to face criminal charges, police say

Noga Martin — Wed, 19 Jan 2022 07:52:19 +0000

Following last week's riots by Bedouin residents of the Negev in protest over JNF-KKL teams planting trees, the Israel Police on Tuesday said 13 suspects will be charged with disturbing the public order.

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Thirty additional suspects, according to the police, were also arrested on Tuesday.

During police operations, meanwhile, 28 illegal residents aboard a bus were also apprehended, along with 50 kilograms (110 pounds) of cannabis ready for distribution, several weapons, and 120 smuggled cigarette cartons.

Three suspects were arrested for allegedly attacking police officers. All of the suspects were taken in for questioning by the Israel Police's Southern District.

The Shin Bet security service aided the police in providing information about the suspects.

Thus far, some 96 suspected rioters have been arrested. The charges include throwing rocks at police patrol vehicles and officers, assaulting police officers, burning tires, throwing Molotov cocktails, and unlawful congregation.

Meanwhile, 38 suspects were still in police custody under ongoing investigation.

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JNF-KKL continues planting trees under heavy security, Shin Bet investigates Negev Bedouin violence

Noga Martin — Wed, 12 Jan 2022 05:49:29 +0000

Under heavy security, JNF-KKL resumed planting trees in the Negev on Wednesday morning after an eruption of Bedouin violence on Tuesday stopped the planting activities.

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At least 18 residents of the Bedouin community in the Negev have been arrested in rioting that broke out Tuesday to protest JNF-KKL tree-planting ceremonies ahead of the Tu B'Shevat holiday, which falls next week.

Riots placed rocks on railway tracks near Goral intersection, forcing a train to come to an emergency stop. At Segev Shalom intersection, rioters set tries on fire and threw fireworks at police personnel, as well as throwing rocks at passing cars and a bus. Two police officers suffered minor injuries. Police restored order quickly.

Earlier Tuesday, soldiers from the IDF's Yoav Unit, Border Police and Israel Police forces were providing security at a JNF-KKL ceremony near the Bedouin village Mulada when rioting broke out. At least 18 suspects were arrested and brought in for questioning for allegedly throwing rocks at the security forces.

Video: Israel Police

A group of several dozen young Bedouin attacked Haaretz reporter Nati Yefet after he arrived at Segev Shalom to cover the rioting. Although Yefet presented his press pass, about 20 Bedouin attacked him, stole his car, and set it on fire. Police extracted Yefet, who was uninjured.

After the Bedouin violence on Tuesday were determined to be expressions of ethno-nationalism, the Shin Bet security agency was assigned to investigate who placed the rocks on the railway tracks. If the train had derailed, it could have caused a mass-casualty event.

Hamas, like it did during the Arab Israeli rioting in May 2021 during Operation Guardian of the Walls, tried to fan the flames of the violence on Tuesday. The organization put out a message of congratulations "to our people in the Negev who are rising up against the Zionist oppression and aggression. Do not let our people in the Negev deal with the occupation on their own. All our people 'inside occupied Palestine' [a term the organization uses for Israel] must be with them.

A car is set on fire during rioting by Negev Bedouin on Jan. 11, 2022

"The occupation should think 1,000 about the idea of harming the land, the people, and the holy sites. The time has come for the occupation to pay a price for its presence and aggression in our land," Hamas said.

Housing and Construction Minister Zeev Elkin said Wednesday in an interview to Kan Radio that "We will continue to plant trees, like we should. Today is the last day of this [tree-planting] round. There has been a very cynical attempt by Netanyahu and his people to exploit this event and upset people. The previous government stopped tree planting because of political pressure."

Elkin said, "We will handle the political problem. I understand the pressure that the Bedouin public is putting on Ra'am. These are state-owned lands. I'm in favor of solving the problems through dialogue, and that is the line [Ra'am leader Mansour] Abbas is taking, which I welcome."

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Head of the Omer Local Council near Beersheba Pini Badash said he expected the violence on Tuesday to "develop into something bigger, a real intifada. The government has started to give in. They gave them a finger, now they want the whole hand.

"It started with three Bedouin communities for development. Something that was supposed to help everyone. But they have started crossing all the lines – the government needs to say, no more," Badash said.

"The government of change is committed to solving the Bedouin problem and regulating the Negev. Politicians from all sides should calm things down rather than fan the flames. I condemn the violence at the site and support the police actions to restore order," Lapid said.

Communications Minister Yoaz Hendel said, "The Negev rioting must not be met with forgiveness. The big lie making rounds here in the past decade, the lack of governability in the Negev and Galilee and the ineffectuality under the Likud government, are not an excuse. We are in power and we have no possibility other than to restore sovereignty to the Negev."

Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu called on Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to condemn what he described as "incitement" from the Ra'am party.

"No one will stop trees from being planted in Israel. I give my full support to the security forces and demand that Bennett issue an immediate condemnation of the Ra'am incitement," Netanyahu said.

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New IDF program aims to ease tensions with Bedouin

Taliah Oz — Sun, 14 Nov 2021 08:27:00 +0000

The Israel Defense Forces hopes the launch of a new program will help reset its relationship with members of the country's Bedouin community in the Negev region.

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As part of the program, the IDF plans to teach the Bedouin Hebrew, work with them on social engagement, and even encourage them to enlist in the Israeli military.

The IDF has been in ongoing conflict with the country's Bedouin population in recent years. Incidents of Bedouin stealing vehicles, weapons, and other military equipment are proudly documented by members of the sector on social media. The sector has also made headlines recently over violence within the community and its takeover of the Negev region, where a majority of the community's members live.

While similar programs have failed to affect change in the past, the IDF hopes this plan will make a difference.

"In recent months, the IDF is in a 'multiorganizational' campaign to bolster security on bases and bolster security in the Negev" by bringing people together, Col. Liat Shavo, the commander of the IDF Southern Command's Personnel Directorate, explained.

As part of the program, units from the IDF's Southern Command will "adopt" schools in Bedouin communities.

Seven IDF units along with seven Bedouin schools will take part in the initial stage of the plan, which was launched on Tuesday. In the coming weeks, school principals and unit commanders will present a plan for the coming schoolyear aimed at kicking off cooperative efforts as soon as early December.

Among other things, the program will see IDF soldiers and students volunteer together in the Bedouin community. A number of activities aimed at promoting tolerance and improving the atmosphere will also be held. In addition, teachers in the IDF will tackle the language gap among many in the Bedouin community by providing additional Hebrew-language instruction in participating schools.

IDF commanders meet with Bedouin community leaders (IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

Shavu admitted it would be difficult to significant change on the ground but said the military was not looking to start a revolution.

"We won't succeed in correcting all the challenges we face, and that's not the objective." She said that by influencing a small portion of Bedouin society, the thinking is that "we may succeed in fixing something deeper."

The head of the Personnel Directorate unit tasked with integrating minorities in the military, Col. Shadi Othman, said that through the project, "We are promoting the integration of the Bedouin population in the South in Israeli society and acting to connect IDF units within the civilian space in the community and in Bedouin cities. The IDF's responsibility to change and influence is the basis of its existence as the people's army, a military that unites every portion of Israeli society into one significant body that cares for us all.

"We are working with the full cooperation of community members who are enlisting and taking part in the projects to change and lead to a future of peace and unified society. This project is one of many that we are leading to integrate all populations in the IDF and Israeli society," he said.

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State to ask High Court court for 6-month delay in razing Khan al-Ahmar

Oren Klass — Sun, 05 Sep 2021 10:04:03 +0000

The state said on Sunday it will ask the Supreme Court to delay by six months plans to raze the illegal Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar, located east of Jerusalem.

The Foreign Ministry announced the request, which it said was "based on inter-agency staff work that includes a diplomatic opinion from the Foreign Ministry…" The ministry declined to provide any more details.

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Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and his Yamina party have in the past supported the demolition of Khan al-Ahmar, while Alternate Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid has spoken against the demolition warning that it would have negative diplomatic ramifications for Israel.

Regavim, a think tank and lobbying group "dedicated to preserving Israel's resources and sovereignty," said in response that the Foreign Ministry was not a party to the case and that only Bennett and Defense Minister Benny Gantz were named as defendants. "Naftali Bennett, you are Israel's Prime Minister. Don't hide behind Foreign Minister Lapid," said Regavim Director Meir Deutsch.

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Bennett's government has to pay the piper

Taliah Oz — Mon, 12 Jul 2021 08:18:52 +0000

Naftali Bennett is a weak prime minister. That isn't the opinion of a political commentator or publicist or the findings of an analysis of his personality or behavior, it is simple mathematical fact. As a prime minister from a party that garnered just six Knesset seats, Bennett has zero flexibility and no room for political maneuvers.

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Those who needed proof got some on Saturday when Bennett quickly capitulated to the Islamist Ra'am party's demands to transfer the Authority for the Development and Settlement of the Bedouin in the Negev from the Prime Minister's Office to the Welfare Ministry. On Saturday morning, Ra'am MK Waleed Taha tweeted that "Ra'am lawmakers will not take part in committee discussions and will not vote for laws in the Knesset plenum until further notice." Just a few hours later, Ra'am's demands had been reportedly met in full, with the Welfare Ministry made responsible for the authority, effective immediately.

Why was this demand so important for Ra'am? At this stage, one can only guess. It may be easier to conduct affairs from within the Welfare Ministry, a relatively inconsequential office, instead of a large and central body like the Prime Minister's Office.

Moreover, there are claims various municipal officials of local authorities in the Negev may be more amenable to working with Welfare Minister Meir Cohen and his Yesh Atid party.

While this is only conjecture, one thing is clear: This move was of utmost importance to members of the Islamic Movement. We can assume Ra'am party members were not motivated by a desire to increase governance and law enforcement in the Bedouin community.

The Authority for the Development and Settlement of the Bedouin in the Negev was established over 20 years ago. It constitutes a sort of government within a government for Bedouin in the Negev and serves as an operational body aimed at transferring the Bedouin population to permanent communities, managing very large development projects to the tune of millions of shekels.

To many, this is an anachronistic body that maintains a different status for the Bedouin, distinguishing them from the rest of Israeli citizens, thereby creating civil distortion and that should therefore be shut down. Nevertheless, for as long as it continues to exist, the authority is an incomparable cash cow. Ties with the authority offer many opportunities for various agreements on construction, regulation, freezing enforcement, and in connection with the overflowing budgets the state provides. Ultimately, the disappointing data is clear: In every year of its existence, the authority has succeeded in "regulating" a handful of Bedouin families, if any. But nothing will get in the way of the money the government continues to pour into the authority.

Ra'am's threat of a parliamentary strike worked, and they got what they demanded. This time around, it may have been the result of an agreement signed upon the establishment of the government. However, the moment such extortionate ties are established, there is no reason for things to end here. The demolitions and enforcement are already frozen in practice, and one doesn't need too much imagination to see where this is headed. Ra'am has learned a simple lesson: The Bennett government gives in to pressure. Protection works, and Bennett will be made to pay increasingly more as time goes by.

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Israel's own Indiana Joneses beat antiquities robbers to the treasure

Noga Martin — Fri, 09 Apr 2021 09:45:29 +0000

The blindingly bright sky, the birds of prey hovering in the silence, and the creeks that run through the dry, yellow ground give no hint of the drama that has played out in the mysterious caves of the Judean Desert in the last few years. Dozens of remnants of Dead Sea Scrolls and papyruses from the time of the Bar Kochba Revolt extracted from these caves and made public for the first time last month comprise the last chapter in the story of the battle between archaeologists and antiquities robbers.

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Sixty years after the first researcher of the modern era to probe the Judean Desert caves, Professor Yohanan Aharoni, discovered the famous "Greek Minor Prophets Scroll" in a cave near Hever Creek, a mission to track down antiquities thieves led authorities to the very same cave. It had become known as the Cave of Horror after the skeletons of 40 refugees from the Bar Kochba Revolt were discovered there, as well as three pottery fragments that bore the names of three of them. On the cliff that hangs over the cave there are the remains of a Roman camp that was apparently used by the forces pursuing the refugees, who died of hunger and thirst while sheltering inside the cave.

This past year, Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologists revisited the cave and were surprised to find fragments of 2,000-year-old scrolls that completed the ones Aharoni had discovered in the mid-20^th century. Thus far, 10 lines have been decrypted, some from Zechariah 8: "These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace. Do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the LORD."

The find was announced only in March, and now, for the first time, Amir Ganor, head of the IAA's Antiquities Robberies Prevention Unit, offers a broader look at the ongoing pursuit of antiquities robbers in the Judean Desert. This pursuit has led to many important archaeological finds, including the ones unveiled a few weeks ago. It also prompted a change in policy, with authorities now trying to beat the robbers to the treasure, rather than catching them.

Ganor has served as head of the unit for 20 years, and he admits that for many years, the robbers were "in control."

The antiquities preservation and cave mapping team uses high-tech climbing equipment (Cave Survey Project) Cave Survey Project

"They had an absolutely advantage on the ground. They knew every path, every furrow, every angle. For years, they went through the desert and the caves south of the Hebron Hills … and to a large extent, we were tracking them in the dark. It drove us crazy. For years, items were moving through the legal and illegal antiquities markets that could have come from only one place – the Judean Desert, whose dry climate preserves so well items from wood, scraps of scrolls, and papyruses," he says.

In 2005, this ritual was cut off for the first time when the name of Professor Hanan Eshel was linked to alleged violations of Israel's Antiquities Law.

Ganor goes back 15 years to touch on the scandal that rocked the archaeological community. "In 2004, robbers at a cave in Arugot Creek found a scroll with three fragments of verses 23-24 of Leviticus, which had been written down at the time of the Bar Kochba Revolt," he says. Eshel bought the scroll from the robbers at a bargain price, $3,000, with funding from Bar-Ilan University. He did not report the transaction to the Israel Antiquities Authority and was nearly tried for it.

But what is less known is the unit's work tracking down that scroll.

"One day," Ganor recalls, "We got a report from an informer about a scroll from the Judean Desert. It later turned out to be the Leviticus Scroll, and it was in the market. We later received a photo of it. To get a hold of it, secure it and get to the people who had it, the robbers and the buyers, we decided to put on a show and operate our own gang of 'robbers,' a group of Arabs and Jews disguised as antiquities thieves."

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"We outfitted them with an old Jeep, metal detectors, and digging tools. We made them part of the landscape. Once a week, members of our gang would ask the members of the [Bedouin] Rashaida tribe to watch the jeep. So for three months, our 'robbers' would hand the jeep over to the Bedouin and go out to look for antiquities. The Rashaida didn't buy it until, in coordination with the IDF, we set up a patrol that passed right by us and offered to work with us. We won the trust [of the Bedouin], we made friends with them. They were the first ones to tell us about the Leviticus Scroll, where it was, whom it was given to, and to whom it was sold. At the end of the operation we arrested three antiquities robbers, members of the Dafalla family of the Rashaida tribe, and Professor Eshel, who had bought the scroll, handed it over to us."

The IAA's Amir Ganor is on the front line of the battle to prevent antiquities theft (Jonathan Shaul) Jonathan Shaul

Four years later, in 2009, the unit received information from two sources about another rare document, a papyrus that would later be identified as the "Year 4 to the destruction of Israel" papyrus, a legal document that belonged to a widow who was involved in a lawsuit over her property. The papyrus was apparently written in the year 140 CE, at the end of the Bar Kochba Revolt, after the rural Jewish community in Judea was destroyed. The document contains 15 lines that mention, among other things, the names of three ancient Jewish villages south of the Hebron Hills (Beit Amar, Upper Anav, and Hurvat Aristobulus), evidence that the Jewish community there continued to exist even after the revolt.

This time, Ganor and his people picked up the trail thanks to a gang of robbers from the village Sair, members of three families who at the time were "active" in the Cave of Skulls at Zeelim Creek. The robbers, it turned out, had put the papyrus up for sale via Christian brokers form Bethlehem.

This time, members of the unit disguised themselves as buyers bidding against other real customers – both antiquities dealers and academics. The fake buyers represented themselves as acting on behalf of an American collector who was supposedly eager to purchase the papyrus. Meetings were set up repeatedly, but each time, something else went wrong.

The defining moment came in a room at the Hyatt Hotel in Jerusalem. A fake representative of the fake collector arrived carrying a suitcase filled with $2 million of fake money. The brokers brought the rare artifact with them and were arrested on the spot. Eventually, in 2016, a rescue excavation in the Cave of Skulls – to which Jews also fled during the Bar Kochba Revolt – turned up pieces of papyrus inscribed with the same writing as that of the Year 4 apyrus, which researchers think might have come from the same cave.

The more operations the unit launched, the more sophisticated the robbers became.

"The members of the gangs used advanced climbing and rappelling equipment and sophisticated metal detecting equipment. They improved their skills climbing cliffs as part of their work in the quarries around Beit Fajjar," Ganor says.

According to Ganor, the robbers also used academic material about the extensive archaeological activity in the Judean Desert in the 1960s, as well as maps and plans that were published as part of that research.

Slowly, members of the unit grew more familiar with the territory and decoded the relations between three Bedouin tribes and the gangs of robbers who came from the villages Sair and Bani Na'im, and how they divided the territory among themselves.

In April 2013, a source presented Ganor with the Jerusalem Papyrus in exchange for tens of thousands of dollars. The papyrus, which dates from the 7^th century BCE, features six words in ancient Hebrew script. This was one of the earliest and most exciting documents ever found, the first archaeological discovery that dated to biblical times – other than books of the Bible – to be discovered in Israel and mention Jerusalem by name. It was a bill of lading for a shipment of wine sent to Jerusalem from the city Naarata. Once again, the trail led to the gang from Sair. At this point, the unit decided to loop Israel Police search and rescue units from Ein Gedi, Arad, and Megillot, as well as the Cave Research Center at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, into the operation to prevent antiquities theft.

In May of that same year, "Operation Eagle" began. The immediate goal were to try and identify the cave from which the Jerusalem Papyrus had been stolen as well as map the caves of the Judean Desert where artifacts dating back to the biblical era had been found and increase the number of people working with the unit.

"In mid-2013, we went back to our old system of forming ties with the gangs of robbers, sending in more and more people and also disguising ourselves as traders. It also requires a good cover story. It's a little like infiltrating a crime family. You can enlist someone from inside the family itself, or make the family want to work with your agent.

"This time, it took, nearly two years, but we managed to penetrate another gang from the clan in Sair. We ran around in the desert with the robbers, we became part of them. It wasn't easy. You have to provide your agent with security. A tiny mistake that could make him suspicious, and he's burned. There were at least three teams watching his activity from near and far, able to get to him in minutes," Ganor says.

"Sometimes, we managed to oversee what the robbers were taking out of the caves by buying the items. In other cases, we went into the caves after the robbers, to understand the territory and research it."

The turning point came in the summer of 2013: "One night in June, we got a report from the Arad search and rescue unit about Palestinians who were stuck on a cliff at Arugot Creek. We got there right away. We identified ourselves as police, not as the IAA. The search and rescue unit brought them down off the cliff and we questioned them. We got their details, their IDF cars, and when we searched their car we found maps, digging equipment, flashlights, and pickaxes. Bingo. But we decided to let them go. From that moment, they became our guides, and didn't suspect a thing. The way they saw it, Jews were suckers who had rescued them without realizing who they were."

"It went on for a few months, until one Saturday in November 2014, when completely by chance, things came full circle."

It happened while the Arad search and rescue unit were training. One member of the rescue unit, Uzi Rothstein, was trying out a new camera with a zoom, and aimed it at the nearby caves. To his surprise, he spotted two figures at the opening of the Cave of Skulls, on the north bank of Zeelim Creek. One was holding a metal detector. Rothstein sent the pictures to Ganor, and all members of the unit were scrambled to the top of the cliff, 80 meters (262 feet) above the opening of the cave.

"We dug in," Ganor says. "We told ourselves that even if it took three days, it was their only way out. At one stage, when they realized they'd been caught, one of the robbers tried to rappel down and fell off the line. His friends pulled him back up. Eventually, they had no choice. They climbed up as the light was fading. We caught six, with all their equipment. Two of the six were the ones who had been rescued off the cliff at Arugot. For us, it was a huge success. The robbers took care to leave most of what they had found in the cave there, but they weren't careful enough, and in their tools we found a 9,000-year-old arrowhead and an ancient lice comb. It was enough to put them in prison for 18 months."

"After we caught them, we went into the Cave of Skulls and realized that the Jerusalem Papyrus hadn't come from there, but it was still a turning point," he says.

A new director of the IAA had just been appointed – Yisrael Hasson, a retired Shin Bet security agency agent. He challenged Ganor and the rest of the unit. The Cave of Skulls was excavated with the help of hundreds of volunteers, and it was fruitful. Finds from the cave included a trove of jewelry and beads from the Chalcolithic Period (some 6,000 years ago), more finds from the Bar Kochba revolt, and more.

One day, Hasson arrived at the cave. Ganor says that the IAA head, moved at the sight of young volunteers devoted to their work, asked him, "Amir, why do we get to these caves after the robbers? Why don't we beat them to it? Why don't we stop running after the mosquitoes and start drying up the swamp?"

That was the moment the record changed. A few months later, the IAA's Orange Unit was established – a unit mandated to go through the caves of the Judean Desert, under Ganor's authority. It's 11 members included three archaeologists.

"We took the initiative and ran with it. People underwent advanced training in rappelling, climbing, rescue. The project to survey the Judean Desert caves was on its way. It's been running for three years, with an annual budget of 9 million shekels [$2.7 million]. We shoulder a third of that, a third id paid by the archeology division of the IDF Civil Administration, and a third by the National Heritage Plan in the Prime Minister's Office."

Ganor explains how it works: "We choose a creek and swarm all over it. We send up drones. We film the creek and mark cave openings. We plan how to access each cave. We design a work protocol and send information to a computerized system that will provide an orderly database for future generations. Anyone who comes after us can click on a point on a map and get all the history and potential of the place."

In the past three years, the unit has mapped 120 kilometers [74 miles] of cliff – 400 caves. Of these, 12 have been excavated. In one, which had been visited by robbers, archaeologists discovered the scraps of the 2,000-year-old scrolls. Another cave south of Qumran, in which no human had set foot since refugees fled there in the Bar Kochba Revolt, revealed vessels and coins. In yet another cave, researchers found jugs that had once held scrolls, but the scrolls themselves were gone.

However, Ganor says this is likely not the handiwork of thieves. "There were no tracks. It's a mystery we'll have to suggest an answer to. It's possible that Byzantine monks who wandered around the Judean Desert collected the scrolls in the fifth century CE. Who knows? Maybe the scrolls are still in archives at those monks' monasteries – possibly the Mar Saba Monastery?"

Ganor says that in 95% of the Qumran caves the unit entered, there were signs of antiquities theft, "which only show how helpless the government was for many years. This last operation has changed things for the first time. We are now in charge of the Judean Desert. From the moment our people were present in the desert every day, with tents and equipment, the message got through.

"To a large extent, we've restored governability when it comes to antiquities in the Judean Desert, through cooperation with the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and the Civil Administration's archaeology unit. I just hope that in the fourth year, the budget will allow us to continue, because at the moment we're working with a very limited budget. We wouldn't want things to change again," Ganor warns.

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Israel Hayom hosting conference on crime and security in southern Israel

Noga Martin — Tue, 09 Mar 2021 11:23:25 +0000

Israel Hayom has partnered with the organization Hashomer HaChadash and the Farmers Federation of Israel to present a conference devoted to fighting crime in southern Israel, the Galilee, and other regions plagued by lawlessness.

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The conference, scheduled to take place in a virtual format on Monday, March 15, will include government ministers, MKs, local authority leaders, defense and security officials, organizations, journalists, and civil society activists.

The goal of the conference is to hold an orderly discussion about governability and sovereignty and make the issue an urgent one on the public agenda. According to the conference organizers, the best way to handle the issue is to convene "round tables" at which all relevant players can grapple with the question in an attempt to create a special community of dialogue.

At the events, participants will be presented with facts and figures as well as personal stories about the situation on the ground. Decision-makers will also discuss various options that could help improve the situation.

Participants scheduled to take part include Public Security Minister Amir Ohana; Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Alon Schuster; Community Affairs Minister Tzachi Hanegbi; former Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked; MK Yoaz Hendel; chairman of the Knesset Agriculture Lobby MK Ram Ben Barak; chairman of the Knesset Finance Committee Y'aakov Mergi; and Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit.

Other scheduled speakers include head of the Merhavim Regional Council Shay Hajaj; head of the Omer Local Council Pini Badash; chairman of the Farmers Federation of Israel Dovi Amitai, chairman of Hashomer HaChadash Yoel Zilberman, and others. Israel Hayom correspondents and analysts will moderate the event.

"Since it was founded, Israel Hayom has set a goal of shining a spotlight on dark, lesser-covered parts of the public agenda in Israel," said editor-in-chief Boaz Bismuth.

"We run articles and exposes about what is happening in the Negev and the Galilee as a matter of course, and the newspaper sees the issue of Israeli governability and sovereignty in the farther-flung areas as a central challenge," Bismuth said.

Zilberman of HaShomer HaChadash said, "When it comes to public security, Israel is in a palpable, dangerous crisis. These challenges demand a change in our approach."

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