The Nazareth Magistrates Court has sentenced three residents of the Galilee village of Tur'an to prison terms of between four and nine months on convictions for offenses of damaging an antiquities site, performing an operation at an antiquities site without a permit, and attempting to steal under aggravated circumstances.
The indictment states that about a year ago, five people (two of them minors), equipped with a backhoe, reached the antiquities site of Horbat Mishkenah, near the village and the Golani Interchange. They began excavating the site, searching for burial caves scattered around a site from the Roman-Byzantine period, hoping to find valuable ancient artifacts in these caves. Thanks to the vigilance of a Border Police volunteer, the inspectors of the Israel Antiquities Authority and other security volunteers arrived immediately at the site and arrested them, but not before they had caused damage to the site.