Palestinian Ministry of Culture calls on the international community to protect Palestinian heritage and historical buildings in Gaza Strip

The Palestinian Ministry of Culture has called on the international community and international organizations to assume their responsibilities in protecting the Palestinian heritage and historical buildings in the afflicted Gaza Strip where the people are being exposed to a hideous massacre as a result of the continued Israeli aggression for the 69th day.

Wafa Agency quoted the Palestinian Minister of Culture Atef Abu Saif as saying today: Dozens of historical buildings in the besieged Gaza Strip were destroyed during the ongoing aggression since the seventh of last October, including churches, old mosques, homes, and markets that reflect the depth of the Palestinian presence in their land.

Abu Saif confirmed that the occupation destroyed libraries, publishing houses, cultural institutions and museums that contained archaeological finds dating back to different eras for thousands of years, in addition to heritage assets such as Palestinian dresses before the Nakba, collectibles from public life in Palestine, as well as old books, manuscripts and documents.

Abu Saif stressed that the occupation’s aggression against national cultural components and its targeting of Palestinian heritage is a continuation of what the Zionist gangs have done during the Nakba, by stealing collectibles and archaeological finds and targeting and seizing cultural infrastructure.

Abu Saif pointed out that harming the Palestinian heritage means harming the heritage of all humanity.

It is noteworthy that Abu Saif called on the Director-General of UNESCO, the Arab Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to intervene to protect the Palestinian heritage from the aggression of the Nazi occupation.