The suspects were residents of the villages of Ibelin and Tamra, and were arrested and taken for questioning at the Tamra police station. They were caught in a joint initiative of the Antiquities Authority's thievery prevention unit, Tamra police statement, Israel Border Police, and Nature and Parks Authority inspectors and volunteers.
The suspects were equipped with manual digging tools and a backhoe and were carrying out destructive and illegal excavations on the Khirbat al-Jahush site. Their equipment was seized as part of the investigation and indictments have been filed against them.Israel Border Police arrived at the scene after receiving a report from the Israel Antiquities Authority. The police identified five suspects at the site equipped with two vehicles, digging equipment, and metal detectors. Police determined that they intended to steal buried antiquities from the nature reserve.
According to Gilad Cinnamon, an archaeologist from the Western Galilee District at the Israel Antiquities Authority, "Archaeological surveys carried out in the area revealed ashlars and pottery from the Hellenistic, Byzantine, early Muslim and Ottoman periods."
Dr. Eitan Klein, Deputy Director of the Antiquities Robbery Prevention Unit, adds: “This antiquities site has not yet been scientifically researched. Thus, any damage to the archeological strata and the ancient finds found in it, constitutes a fatal and irreversible damage that makes it difficult for archaeologists to understand the history of the site and its inhabitants over the generations. It is inconceivable that people take the law into their own hands out of greed, destroying and harming antiquities and preventing the general public in the State of Israel from enjoying the heritage that belongs to us all. "
An additional attempt at an illegal excavation was thwarted at the Ein Afek Reserve and five suspects from the villages of Tamra and Shefar'am were arrested.