The Hamas government’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in the Gaza Strip on Monday announced the discovery of a Canaanite statue by a local Arab who was cultivating his land in the Sheikh Hamouda area of Khan Yunis, Al Quds and other Arab outlets reported.
The Ministry’s Director-General of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage, Jamal Abu Rida, explained that the Canaanite statue, dating back to 2500 BCE, depicts the Canaanite goddess Anat, the goddess of war, hunting, and fertility of the ancient Middle East, from Mesopotamia to Canaan and ancient Egypt. Anat is described as a beautiful, courageous and resourceful virgin girl. She is the Canaanite equivalent of the Egyptian Isis, and probably greatly influenced the shaping of the image of the Greek goddess Athena.
Gaza: The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in Gaza announces the discovery of a Canaanite statue inside a land in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, dating back to 2500 BC. pic.twitter.com/o3Zsw6L06F
— Lebanese News and Updates (@LebUpdate) April 25, 2022
Abu Rida reported that the statue is 22 cm (8.6 in) tall, made of limestone, with an integrated head without a body. Attached to the head is the crown in the shape of a serpent, a symbol of strength and invincibility.
Rida stated that the discovery of the archaeological artifact “proves the historical eligibility of the Palestinian people in their land, their heritage, and the sublimity of their civilization thousands of years ago.”
He didn’t explain why.
The Sheikh Hamouda hill is an archaeological site located 2 km from the town of Qarara in Khan Yunis Governorate, where, according to Rida, the ancient commercial land route was used by “successive civilizations in Palestine.”
Those of us who read books other than the Quran would tell you that the name “Palestina” was given by the Roman emperor Adrian to the province of Judea after the Bar Kochva rebellion of 132-135, in an effort to erase the country’s Jewish history. Adrian also changed the name of Jerusalem to “Aelia Capitolina” and replaced our burnt Temple with a temple honoring Jupiter.
No Arabs were involved in the commission of that war crime – they were mostly still walking in a circle around this huge meteoric, black stone in the middle of the Arabian desert.
