Wary of Israeli appropriation, Palestine lists 14 sites with UNESCO | Israel-Palestine conflict

For Palestinians sustaining their land and heritage, which is below Israeli occupation since 1948, grew to become a nationwide precedence.  The Palestinian Authority has formally moved to register 14 new cultural and pure websites on UNESCO’s World Heritage tentative list in a bid to safeguard its cultural and historic websites from Israeli appropriation and assaults.

“Palestine isn’t just an area of political battle, however a civilisation rooted in human historical past,” Marwa Adwan, performing director-general of World Heritage on the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism, informed Al Jazeera.

“This range is the strongest response to makes an attempt to monopolise the historic narrative,” she stated, referring to Israeli makes an attempt to acceptable symbols of Palestinian tradition and historical past.

The submission introduced by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities on January 1, goals to grant worldwide recognition to endangered landmarks throughout the occupied West Financial institution and the Gaza Strip, which has been devastated by Israel’s genocidal struggle. Greater than 200 historic websites had been destroyed by Israeli bombing in what consultants referred to as a “cultural genocide“.

The brand new checklist brings the full variety of Palestinian websites on the tentative checklist to 24, protecting an enormous timeline from the Canaanite city-states courting again to three,000 BC to Gaza’s Previous Metropolis.

The 14 submitted websites

The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities confirmed the complete checklist of web sites submitted to the United Nations Academic, Scientific and Cultural Group (UNESCO). The checklist spans prehistoric caves, non secular routes, and trendy structure. The websites are:

• The historic centre of Gaza, together with the Nice Omari Mosque and the Church of Saint Porphyrius
• The Byzantine Church of Jabalia (Mukheitim)
• Canaanite city-states
• The historic metropolis of Nablus and its environs
• The Holy Miracles of Jesus Christ in Palestine
• Monasteries of the Jerusalem wilderness (El-Bariyah)
• Maqamat (shrines) in Palestine
• Jerusalem water system Qanat es-Sabeel
• Jabal al-Fureidis / Herodium
• The Decrease Jordan River Valley
• Archaeological Palaces of Tulul Abu el-‘Alayiq
• Cultural panorama of Wadi Kharitoun prehistoric caves
• Dwelling caves (Al-Maghayir) of Palestine
• Trendy structure in Palestine

Saving Gaza’s historical past

A vital part of the bid is the protection of heritage in Gaza, which has confronted catastrophic destruction during Israel’s genocidal war. The checklist consists of the Nice Omari Mosque, constructed practically 1,400 years in the past, and the Church of Saint Porphyrius, each focused throughout Israeli bombardment. The Greek Orthodox Church was inbuilt 425.

Adwan described the transfer as a strategic step for the “day after” the struggle.

“Itemizing websites just like the Nice Omari Mosque … is an preliminary worldwide recognition of their international worth and their pressing want for cover,” she defined.

“We’re relying on UNESCO not only for funding, however to doc damages as a world authorized supply to protect our cultural rights.”

‘Heritage is a bridge’

The initiative has drawn a pointy response from the Israeli authorities, significantly concerning websites positioned in Space C of the West Financial institution, resembling Herodium (Jabal al-Fureidis), which is below full Israeli army management. Space C varieties greater than 60 % of the West Financial institution.

According to Israel’s Channel 14, Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu despatched an pressing letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, labeling the Palestinian transfer as “archaeological terrorism”.

Eliyahu demanded the formation of a authorities process power to dam the bid, arguing it’s a “strategic enviornment for a political battle” aimed toward seizing websites of “Jewish historic significance”.

“Lack of response can be interpreted within the worldwide enviornment as silent acceptance,” Eliyahu warned, claiming the transfer is a prelude to “worldwide authorized interventions”.

Israel has been accused of erasing Palestinian cultural heritage and weaponising archaeology to acceptable Palestinian land. It has designated dozens of Palestinian archaeological websites within the occupied West Financial institution as “Israeli heritage websites” to seize Palestinians land and entrench its occupation.

The UN Common Meeting in September 2024 handed a decision asking Israel to finish its occupation of Palestinian inside a yr. The decision got here after the Worldwide Court docket of Justice ruled that Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories was unlawful.

Palestinian officers have rejected the Israeli characterisation.

“Heritage just isn’t a weapon, however a bridge,” Adwan informed Al Jazeera. “Making an attempt to hyperlink heritage to safety or calling it ‘terrorism’ is a deliberate distortion.”

She famous that the recordsdata had been chosen based mostly on technical standards to spotlight Palestine’s non secular and cultural range, together with the “Miracles of Jesus” route and the Monasteries of the Jerusalem Wilderness (El-Bariyah).

“This displays a uncommon cultural and spiritual pluralism that should be preserved for all of humanity,” Adwan added.

Severing UN ties

The row over heritage unfolds as Israel strikes to chop ties with the United Nations system solely.

On Monday, Israeli Overseas Minister Gideon Saar announced that Israel would “instantly sever all contact” with a number of UN our bodies, together with UN Ladies and the Workplace of the Particular Consultant of the Secretary-Common for Youngsters and Armed Battle, citing “anti-Israel bias”.

Final yr Israel banned the UN Reduction and Works Company for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which is taken into account a lifeline for Palestinians within the occupied territories in addition to in neighbouring international locations internet hosting Palestinian refugees. Greater than 750,000 Palestinians had been ethnically cleansed from their homeland main as much as the creation of Israel in 1948.

This follows a current resolution from the administration of US President Donald Trump to withdraw from UNESCO for a second time. The US, Israel’s closest regional ally, has additionally lower funds to UNRWA.

Regardless of the hostile diplomatic local weather, Adwan insisted the Palestinian bid is a “sovereign proper”.

“It isn’t a race towards time,” she stated, referring to Israeli settlement growth. “It’s a strategic step to combine these websites into safety plans earlier than it’s too late.”