UNESCO includes a Palestinian site on the World Heritage List

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has included the site of “Ancient Jericho – Tel Sultan” in Palestine on its World Heritage List. 

Commenting on this, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the UNESCO decision and stressed the importance of the decision to prevent the occupation authorities from continuing to attack historical and archaeological areas in the occupied Palestinian territories. 

For its part, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: The decision to include the ancient city of Jericho – Tel Sultan on the UNESCO World Heritage List confirms the unique global value of the site and Palestine in general, and categorically refutes all the claims of the Israeli occupation entity and its attempts to Judaize Palestinian antiquities. 

The Foreign Ministry called on the international community and UNESCO to protect Palestine and its people and preserve Palestinian heritage sites from the continuing attacks of the Israeli occupation.

In turn, the Palestinian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Rula Maayah, explained that this decision came during the forty-fifth session of UNESCO held in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, and thus Palestine now has five sites officially registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List. 

Maayah stressed the importance of the decision, considering the site an integral part of the diverse Palestinian heritage of exceptional human value and its global importance as the oldest fortified city in the world. 

She pointed to the cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Palestine Mission to UNESCO, the Jericho Municipality, and local and international experts to achieve this achievement. 

O.M