TORONTO, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- The Canadian government said it will not seize the Dead Sea scrolls on display in Toronto despite a request from the Jordanian government.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. said the Canadian government refused Jordan's request to seize the historical scrolls that were part of a display at Toronto's Royal Ontario Museum that concluded Sunday.
The Canadian government said in a statement that "differences regarding ownership of the Dead Sea scrolls should be addressed by Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority. It would not be appropriate for Canada to intervene as a third party."
Jordanian officials, along with Palestinian authorities, wanted Canada to seize the scrolls until final ownership of the documents could be determined.
Israeli officials have opposed Jordan's claim on the 16 scrolls. Jordan maintains Israel illegally obtained the scrolls from Jordan during the Six-Day War of 1967.
Palestinian authorities insist the set of documents and biblical texts, which date back to 250 B.C., are also linked to their heritage, the CBC reported.
