"A lot of people are probably wondering why ISIS, in the middle of war, is wasting time, money, and explosives demolishing ancient archaeological ruins.

One possible theory is that this destruction is a quid pro quo to ISIS supporters in Israel. Israel's entire claim to the lands of the Palestinians rests on biblical myths about the Kingdoms of David and Solomon and the First Temple, for which there is no hard archaeological evidence. The two best known claimed artifacts for the First Temple, the Pomegranate Temple Staff ornament and the Jehoash Tablet have been exposed as clever forgeries, and locations in Israel said to be connected with David and Solomon are so named out of tradition and "confirmation bias", with archaeologists admitting there is no actual hard data as to what they really were.

Contrast that with other nations such as Egypt, Iraq, Iran, etc. where one cannot take three steps without tripping over the evidence of their ancient histories. Such a plethora of archaeological evidence in other countries has proven to be a severe embarrassment to Israel as it underscores the paucity of such evidence for what Israel declares to be its historical origins. Much of the Torah is now known to have simply been copied from other sources. The story of the Exodus actually happened to the Hyksos, not the Hebrews, and the story of the great flood was copied almost verbatim from the Epic of Gilgamesh. People can be forgiven for asking if the stories of the First Temple are also likewise purloined from other places and peoples.

So Israel's governments, which justifies its theft on those stories, has a powerful motive to want the archaeological sites in other countries erased, to "level the playing field" by reducing the obvious contrast in the amount of such remains in other countries versus Israel itself. This may explain why, following the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, armed forces guarded the oil ministry while the Baghdad Museum was left wide open for looting and why American forces defaced the ancient city of UR, including building portions of a runway over the site.

Mike Rivero.