Occupied Jerusalem: A delegation from Unesco, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, arrived on Sunday to inspect preservation work in Occupied Jerusalem’s Old City, as part of a deal whereby Israel would let the delegation tour the Old City, and the Palestinians would postpone five anti-Israel resolutions pending before the body.
According to a Unesco statement, the mission’s goals are to “examine the state of conservation of the Old City of Occupied Jerusalem and its walls, a World Heritage site”.
The mission is made up of experts from Unesco’s World Heritage Centre, the International Council on Monuments and Sites, and the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property. It is to present its report and recommendations before the beginning of the World Heritage Committee’s annual meeting on June 1.
Riyad Al Maliki, Foreign Minister of the Palestinian National Authority, recently stated that the fact-finding committee set up by Unesco would visit Jerusalem to investigate the actions of occupation and Judaisation of the city.
Al Maliki said that the delegation will stay in Jerusalem for five days and then return to the headquarters of Unesco in Paris to provide a comprehensive report on the visit. Unesco accepted Palestine as a member in 2011, having added the Old City to its list of World Heritage Sites in 1981.