Looting
Gal AmiramLooting is an exhibition that builds on extensive research into archaeological sites managed by Israeli settlers in Palestinian territories. Currently, there are approximately 6,000 archaeological sites in the West Bank. When Israel designates a location as an archaeological site, it grants the state the authority to confiscate land and displace the Palestinian population living in the area.
The exhibition focuses on three mosaics that were extracted from Palestinian territories in the West Bank and Gaza, as well as an archaeological site in Palestinian East Jerusalem that now serves as an Israeli settlement. The mosaics are currently housed in an Israeli cultural settlement museum in the West Bank, where their relocation to official Israeli territories is considered illegal under international law. Through photo collages of the looted mosaics, the work reimagines them to display the Arabic names of their origins. With photography, video, and archival research, this project aims to reveal how Israel is using archaeology to rewrite history and obscure Palestinian landscape and heritage.