Donald Trump is 'expediting' the return of priceless ancient Chanukah lamps after the Israeli government revealed they have been trying to reclaim the items for years.

According to a spokesman for the former president: “These historic items were presented by a representative of the Israeli antiquities authority with the full support of the organization,”

"The items were displayed as originally intended, the office will be expediting their return to the organization’s representative,”

The Chanukah lamps were sent to the US in 2019 for a White House event attended by millionaire Saul Fox, who is a major donor to the Israeli Antiquities Authority and the US Republican party.

The antiques were reportedly not displayed at the Chanukah celebration event but ended up at Trump's Florida residence and membership club - Mar a Lago.

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Saul Fox (R) and Hannah Strobel arrive for the State Dinner at The White House honoring Australian PM Morrison on September 20, 2019 in Washington, DC (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images)

According to the Wall St Journal, Saul Fox kept the items in his California home, saying he “and sort of forgot about it,”

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The Chanukah lamps loaned by the IAA to Saul Fox (Saul Fox)

They didn't surface again until they were brought to Florida two years later for a dinner with Trump, and Fox presented the lamps in their ceremonial box to Trump, saying: “This permanent exhibition of Israel’s national treasures outside of the State of Israel in your honor is without precedent,” 

According to the report, Fox asked the Israeli government agency responsible for the lamps if he could give them to Trump permanently and received an email from the IAA while waiting to meet the president telling him to return the items to Israel immediately.

He ignored the email and decided to proceed in giving Trump the box containing the antiques, which are believed to have been stored in Mar a Lago until earlier this week.