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On September 15th, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suddenly shouted to Turkey at the United Nations General Assembly, asking Turkey to immediately return the ancient stone tablet including the "Siloam Inscription" to them.
The tablet is about 2,800 years old and is engraved with ancient Hebrew script. Netanyahu said it was Israel's treasure and they would do "whatever it takes" to get it back.
Not to be outdone, Turkish President Erdogan said in his response on September 19th: "Turkey will never give this stone tablet to Israel. If it has the ability, it will grab it."He also stressed that even a small stone of Jerusalem would not be given to Turkey.
This Siloan inscription is of great historical value. This stone is engraved in six lines of ancient Hebrew text, which records the process of opening a water tunnel in Jerusalem in the 8th century BC.
This project is similar to that mentioned in the Bible in 2 Kings, The work of the King Hezekiah of the kingdom of Judah to defend the Assyrian siege was appropriate.
The stone was discovered in 1880 in the Siloe Tunnel in Jerusalem, where the Palestinian territory was then ruled by the Ottoman Empire, and was later delivered to Constantinople (now Istanbul) and placed in the Archaeological Museum of Istanbul.
For Israel, The stone is “the iron proof of the Jewish nation’s existence in Jerusalem for three thousand years.”。 Netanyahu even said it was "Israel's birth certificate" and more important than the Dead Sea Scrolls.
In fact, it is not the first time that Netanyahu and Turkey have a dispute about the stone, as early as 1998, Netanyahu talked to then-Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yermaz about the return of the stone.
At the time, Netanyahu wanted to exchange artifacts from the Ottoman Empire collected in Israeli museums.But Yilmaz insisted that Israel return all the Ottoman artifacts or pay Turkey the price it saw fit. Because the differences between the two sides were too great, the negotiations collapsed.
In 2022, there were rumors that Turkey might agree to return the stone tablet, but it didn't come true in the end. Until September this year, Netanyahu publicly mentioned it at the UN General Assembly.
Netanyahu also said in his speech, Turkey’s rejection of the exchange in 1998 was partly due to fear of anger on Erdogan and his supporters at the time as mayor of Istanbul.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan strongly reacted to Netanyahu’s demands in his September 19 speech, accusing Netanyahu of “having Turkey because Turkey doesn’t give the Siloan Stones.”
Erdogan stressed that “Jerusalem is the honor, dignity and glory of all and all Muslims.”Turkey will not hand it over, he said, “I would not give it when I was mayor of Istanbul, and now it’s even more impossible to be president!”
To prevent the accident, Turkey has taken the stone sculpture from the museum exhibition hall, hidden it in a secret place, and announced that it would no longer be public.
Turkish scholars also support the government’s stance. The historian Ilb Ortai believes, Israel wants to claim sovereignty through this stone monumentThis is impossible in history.
The museum scientist Yehaya Kuren also drew up the collection records from 1883, proving that the stone sculptures had been legally placed in Tibet during the Ottoman Empire.
This artifacts dispute is actually a shrinkage of the worsening relationship between Israel and Turkey.The relationship between the two countries has changed sharply since the incident in the Gaza Fleet in 2010.
At that time, Israel attacked a Turkish rescue ship trying to break through the blockade of Gaza.Nine Turks were killed. In recent years, Erdogan has repeatedly described Netanyahu as "Hitler's successor", while Netanyahu has accused Turkey of supporting Hamas.
On August 29, Turkish Foreign Minister Ferdinand announced the closure of airspace and ports for Israel, completely disrupting economic and trade ties with Israel.
Ferdinand said, Israel is carrying out “genocide” in the Gaza Strip, and its policies have gone beyond the scope of Gaza.To drag the entire Middle East into war. This series of sanctions has brought Turkish-Israeli relations to freezing point.
At the same time, there are also great differences between the two countries on issues such as Syria, Lebanon and Cyprus. Some analysts believe that Turkey and Israel are fighting for dominance in the Middle East, a competition that makes the two sides more rival in the issue of the return of artifacts.
Regarding the question of the belonging to the Siloan monument, both sides have their respective legal and historical grounds. Turkey adheres to the principle that “which country belongs to which country when the artifacts are discovered.”
The stones were landed in 1880, when the Palestinian territory was under the control of the Ottoman Empire, and were legally sent to Istanbul in 1891. Turkey believed that they were the heirs of the Ottoman Empire, so the stones had legal ownership.
Israel invoked the 1970 UNESCO Convention and advocated that cultural relics should be returned, However, Turkey believes that this convention only applies to cultural relics illegally lost after 1970,The transfer of the stone tablet occurred before the entry into force of the Convention, and it was in accordance with the law at that time.
Judging from historical cases, similar disputes, the International Court of Justice usually maintains the status quo.
For example, Greece demanded that Britain return the sculpture of the Paternon temple, while Egypt failed to seize the Rosetta monument.
The dispute over Siloea stone monuments is not just a matter of heritage, It is also a symbol of the two countries’ competition for regional influence and historical speech.Erdogan’s administration has engaged in “New Ottomanism,” describing the monument as a symbol of Turkey as the guardian of Islamic civilization.
Erdogan said "Jerusalem is the honor of all," stressing the legitimacy of Turkey's rule over the Holy City for four hundred years. It wants to provide a historical basis for Israel’s rejection of the “two-state plan” in the conflict in Pakistan.
Some analysts believe that this tactic of “politization” of artifacts is a common diplomatic tool in Israel in recent years.
Now, the Siloan stone monument has been transferred by Turkey to a secret place to hide, Erdogan has also made it clear that it will no longer be made public.
In an interview with Turkish media, historian Irb Ortay asked, according to Israel’s logic, could the Romans also demand the return of the land they ruled two thousand years ago?
The modern dispute around ancient artifacts is still ongoing, and it is not only about the interpretation of history by the two nations, it also affects the contrast of power in the Middle East.
References:
Erdogan: Turkey will never hand over the Siloan to Israel 2025-09-22 15:01 Source: Global Times
Turkish closure of ports and airspace to Israel Total interruption of economic and trade exchanges 2025-08-29 23:53
3. "Israel's Permanent Representative to the United Nations says he will no longer talk about the" two-state solution "" 2025-09-23 07:24 | Source: Beijing News
4. "Turkish President: Israel's" genocide "endangers regional stability" 2025-09-19 09:54 | Source: Global Times