RAMALLAH / Anadolu

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates on Wednesday welcomed the adoption by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee of four resolutions concerning Palestine, related to the safeguarding of world heritage sites inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

These resolutions come to underscore international concern over the state of Palestinian sites inscribed on the World Heritage in Danger list.

The ministry explained that the resolutions cover the Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls, the Old City of Hebron, the Monastery of Saint Hilarion / Tell Umm Amer in Gaza, and Battir south of Jerusalem, according to a statement issued during the 48th session of the World Heritage Committee in Busan, South Korea.

It added that the adoption of these resolutions reflects "the Palestinian diplomatic effort and close coordination with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Arab group, and brotherly and friendly nations supporting Palestinian rights."

The ministry affirmed that the resolutions "come amid the systematic and serious violations committed by Israel against Palestinian world heritage sites and cultural properties, including attempts of forgery, distortion, and desecration, and violation of UNESCO's competencies, especially in the city of Jerusalem, including undermining freedom of worship, freedom of access, and the right to education, and the continued incursions of settlers into the Al-Aqsa Mosque."

It considered that these violations "fall within a policy aimed at imposing temporal and spatial division of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, changing the historical, legal, and demographic reality of occupied East Jerusalem, and attacking Islamic and Christian holy sites."

The ministry indicated that the Israeli violations include excavations under and around the Haram al-Sharif and in the Buraq Plaza, in addition to settlement projects and restricting Christian access to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

The ministry pointed out that the resolutions called for the urgent dispatch of reactive monitoring missions to the Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls, and the Old City of Hebron, in cooperation with the World Heritage Centre and the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), to conduct an independent professional assessment and provide necessary recommendations for the preservation of these sites.

It also praised the World Heritage Committee's affirmation of the exceptional religious and cultural importance of the Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls for the three monotheistic religions, and the retention of the aforementioned Palestinian sites on the List of World Heritage in Danger, alongside its affirmation of the invalidity of all legislative and administrative measures taken by Israel aimed at altering the character and status of these sites.

The ministry expressed its appreciation to the countries that supported the adoption of the resolutions by consensus, stressing that the State of Palestine will continue to work with UNESCO and its specialized bodies and member states to follow up on their implementation, document violations, and mobilize the necessary international technical and legal support to protect Palestinian cultural heritage.

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee inscribed the Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls on the World Heritage List in 1981 and on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 1982.

It also inscribed the Old City of Hebron and the Ibrahimi Mosque on the World Heritage List in 2017, Battir village (Palestine: Land of Olives and Vines – Cultural Landscape of Southern Jerusalem) in 2014, while the Monastery of Saint Hilarion / Tell Umm Amer in the Gaza Strip was inscribed on both the World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2024.

The Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls are among the most prominent contested sites, as UNESCO inscribed them on the World Heritage List in 1981 and on the Danger List in 1982. Similarly, the Old City of Hebron, the Monastery of Saint Hilarion, and Battir face similar threats from Israeli activities. These resolutions cement UNESCO's position rejecting Israeli measures aimed at altering the character of these sites. The joint Palestinian-Jordanian move to support these resolutions comes within the framework of international efforts to protect cultural heritage in the occupied territories.