Using cutting-edge metallurgical techniques, a group of Israeli archaeologists have analyzed four figurines from an ancient Egyptian city, and determined that they were made with copper from the mines of Timna, located near what is now Israel’s southern tip. The statuettes date to about 1,000 BCE, or around the time of Kings David and Solomon. Rosella Tercatin writes:

The findings . . . shed new light on the relations between Egypt and the populations of the Levant. And according to Erez Ben Yosef, [one of the coordinators of the study], they offer an additional [piece of evidence] to support his view that a nomadic kingdom at the time could constitute a wealthy and sophisticated society capable of entertaining complex commercial relations with foreign entities, offering important insights not only on what was happening in Timna—which he believes at the time was part of the biblical kingdom of Edom—but also in the Jerusalem of King David and King Solomon.

While the archaeologist believes that Timna was part of the Edomite kingdom, which is prominently featured in the Bible, he has also suggested that what was happening at Timna was still very connected to the vicissitudes of contemporary Jerusalem. Jerusalem could have indirectly controlled the mines—as the biblical text itself suggests when it narrates how David conquered Edom.

Established in 2012 and maintaining branches in Europe, North America, and Iran, the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Network claims its goal is merely to show “solidarity” for imprisoned Palestinians. The organization’s leader, however, has admitted to being a representative of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a notorious terrorist group whose most recent accomplishments include murdering a seventeen-year-old girl. As Arsen Ostrovsky and Patricia Teitelbaum point out, Samidoun is just one example of how the European Union allows Iran-backed terrorists to operate in its midst:

The PFLP is a proxy of the Iranian regime, which provides the terror group with money, training, and weapons. Samidoun . . . has a branch in Tehran. It has even held events there, under the pretext of “cultural activity,” to elicit support for operations in Europe. Its leader, Khaled Barakat, is a regular on Iran’s state [channel] PressTV, calling for violence and lauding Iran’s involvement in the region. It is utterly incomprehensible, therefore, that the EU has not yet designated Samidoun a terror group.

According to the Council of the European Union, groups and/or individuals can be added to the EU terror list on the basis of “proposals submitted by member states based on a decision by a competent authority of a member state or a third country.” In this regard, there is already a standing designation by Israel of Samidoun as a terror group and a decision of a German court finding Barakat to be a senior PFLP operative.

Given the irrefutable axis-of-terror between Samidoun, PFLP, and the Iranian regime, the EU has a duty to put Samidoun and senior Samidoun leaders on the EU terror list. It should do this not as some favor to Israel, but because otherwise it continues to turn a blind eye to a group that presents a clear and present security threat to the European Union and EU citizens.