The Israel Tax Authority announced Monday, 6 June, that a driver for the Norwegian Royal Embassy to Israel, Issa Najam, was arrested last week for alleged antiquities smuggling—in an embassy vehicle from Norway’s representative office to the Palestinian Authority.
The stash of ancient artefacts—including coins from the Hasmonean dynasty (140-37 BC) and King Herod’s reign (37-4 BC), statuettes and beads—was found in the panelling of the Mercedes by Israeli customs officials as the car headed from Jordan travelling into Jerusalem at the Allenby Bridge crossing. A Norwegian diplomat was in the car when it was stopped, a spokesman for the Royal Norwegian Embassy confirmed to The Art Newspaper over email, but “was not accused of any involvement in the case”.
According to a spokesman from the Tax Authority, as reported by the Times of Israel, diplomatic vehicles are not searched at the crossing due to protocol. However, the Norwegian Foreign Ministry told the Times that Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had requested embassy permission to search the vehicle, since they had “concrete information” about the vehicle hiding smuggled goods, and the embassy cooperated.
“Norway takes this incident very seriously,” a spokesman from the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Tel Aviv told The Art Newspaper in a statement. In addition to the Israeli authorities’ actions, the Norwegian embassy “has initiated an internal process”, the statement adds. An embassy spokesman says that the driver—who has been released on bail—“is currently not working for the Norwegian Representative Office to the PA [Palestinian Authority]”.
The artefacts are being examined by the Israel Antiquities authority. So far, Israeli authorities have not named an estimated worth of the haul, which weighed around 10kg in total, but have simply said they are “of great value”. Israeli authorities have also not yet disclosed the “concrete information” that led to the arrest.
Israel’s Tax Authority said in a statement that the driver "was detained at the end of the search and gave his version [of events] to the Customs Investigation Unit and tax investigators in Jerusalem".
This article was updated on 8 June to include a statement from the Israel Tax Authority.