The ancient ceramic oil lamps were loaned to the White House for a Hanukkah candle-lighting event in 2019 with the strict proviso that they be returned within weeks, Haaretz reports.

However, they were ultimately not used at the event due to concerns that they had been illegally removed from occupied Palestine.

Plans to return the antiquities were subsequently disrupted by the pandemic and travel restrictions.

Israel’s Antiquities Authority said it has now learned the lamps are at the Mar-a-Lago estate, which was raided last year in connection with a criminal investigation into Mr Trump’s handling of classified documents.

Eli Eskozido, head of the agency, has appealed to the Israeli and US governments for assistance in retrieving the lamps from Mar-a-Lago.