Palestinian Institutions Welcome UNESCO’s Heritage Decisions

Palestinian official institutions have expressed their approval following the adoption of four resolutions by UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee during its 48th session in South Korea. These resolutions focus on the preservation of Palestinian World Heritage sites listed as endangered.

UNESCO Resolutions and Their Focus

The resolutions address several significant sites, including the Old City of Jerusalem and its walls, the Old City of Hebron, the Saint Hilarion Monastery (Tel Umm Amer) in Gaza, and Battir (the cultural landscape south of Jerusalem). These decisions reaffirm the inclusion of these sites on the World Heritage in Danger list, emphasizing the exceptional religious and cultural significance of Jerusalem.

Palestinian Rejection of Israeli Actions

The committee declared all Israeli actions aimed at altering the historical and legal character of these sites as invalid. In this context, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the adoption of these resolutions reflects the success of Palestinian diplomatic efforts, coordinated with Jordan, the Arab group, and supporting nations.

The Ministry highlighted that these resolutions arise from systematic Israeli violations against World Heritage sites and Palestinian cultural properties. Such violations include attempts at distortion and desecration, undermining freedom of worship, access, and the right to education. Additionally, settler incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque continue unabated.

Calls for International Action to Protect Heritage

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned against attempts by the occupation to impose temporal and spatial division at Al-Aqsa Mosque, which threatens to alter the historical, legal, and demographic reality of East Jerusalem. The Ministry emphasized the need for interactive monitoring missions to Jerusalem and Hebron to ensure independent professional assessments and safeguard the outstanding universal value of these sites.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Awqaf, Tourism, and Antiquities, along with the Jerusalem Governorate, welcomed these resolutions. They viewed the decisions as a new legal and diplomatic victory for Palestinian rights, reaffirming the invalidity of Israeli actions aimed at changing the historical and legal character of sacred sites. They also stressed the necessity for effective international action to protect Jerusalem from policies that threaten its identity, heritage, and inhabitants.

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