Unesco: Tomb of Patriarchs is ‘Palestinian’

THE UNITED Nations Educational, Scientific, Cultural Organisation (Unesco) last week passed a resolution declaring the Old City of Hebron in the West Bank, which includes the Tomb of the Patriarchs, a Palestinian world heritage site.

The ruling, which also designated the area “endangered”, was the second antiIsrael resolution in a week to emerge from Unesco World Heritage Committee’s 41st annual summit, which took place in Krakow, Poland.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the resolution “another delusional decision by Unesco”.

He added: “This time they decided that the Tomb of the Patriarchs is a Palestinian site, meaning that it is not Jewish, and that the site is in danger. Not a Jewish site?! Who is buried there? Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca and Leah — our patriarchs and matriarchs!”

Mr Netanyahu said Israel would further reduce the amount it pays the agency by $1 million in protest at the decision, and would instead spend the funds on establishing a museum of Jewish heritage in Hebron.

In the secret ballot, 12 countries voted in favour, three opposed the move and six countries abstained.

Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, said: “This attempt to sever the ties between Israel and Hebron eliminates Unesco’s credibility.” However, the Palestinians hailed it as a victory against Israeli and US opposition.

The Tomb of the Patriarchs includes the burial site of Abraham, who is also revered by Muslims as a Koranic prophet and patriarch through Ishmael.

The Ibrahimi Mosque, which is directly above the Tomb of the Patriarchs, was the site of a massacre by American-Israeli Baruch Goldstein, who murdered 29 Muslim worshippers there in 1994.

Earlier in the week, the World Heritage Committee had passed a softer resolution ruling condemning Israel for carrying out archaeological excavations in Jerusalem’s Old City.