Warsaw, Poland: The Unesco World Heritage committee on Friday put the West Bank city of Hebron’s Old Town on its list of world heritage in danger, a decision that drew outrage from Israel.
The decision was taken in Krakow, Poland, on a proposal from the Palestinian side. Israel said that the decision’s wording ignored its historic links to the city. The Israeli ambassador to Unesco left the session.
The secret vote was 12-3 with six abstentions.
The decision draws attention to the situation in Hebron, which has sites that are holy for both Jews and Muslims. It also obliges the World Heritage committee to review its situation every year. By the same decision, Hebron’s Old Town was also put on Unesco World Heritage list.
Naftali Bennett, Israel’s Education Minister, said in a statement that “Jewish ties to Hebron are stronger than the disgraceful Unesco vote.”
Bennett, leader of the nationalist Jewish Home party, also heads Israel’s national Unesco Committee.
The Palestinians hailed the decision.
Rula Maayah, the Palestinian Minister of Tourism, said in a statement it was a “historical development because it stressed that Hebron” and its historic mosque “historically belong to the Palestinian people.”
Hebron’s Old City in the occupied West Bank is home to more than 200,000 Palestinians and a few hundred Israeli colonists.
“Just inscribed on @UNESCO #WorldHeritage List & World Heritage in Danger List: Hebron/Al-Khalil Old Town,” the organisation said on its official Twitter feed.
The resolution was fast-tracked on the basis that the site was under threat, with the Palestinians accusing Israel of an “alarming” number of violations, including vandalism and damage to properties.
The Palestinian foreign ministry called the decision made by Unesco despite US and Israeli opposition a “success” for Palestinian diplomacy
Hebron claims to be one of the oldest cities in the world, dating from the Chalcolithic period or more than 3,000 years BC, the Unesco resolution said.
At various times it has been conquered by Romans, Jews, Crusaders and Mamluks.
The city is home to the imposing Ebrahim mosque, the resting place of key Biblical figures Ebrahim, Ishaq and Yaqoub and one of the most important religious sites to Muslims and Jews alike.
Hebron is also a stark example of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The few hundred Israelis live closed off in several small colonies most of the world considers illegal, with Palestinians largely banned from entering and using nearby streets.
Israel seized the West Bank in the 1967 war in a move considered illegal by the United Nations.
The Israelis living in Hebron are protected by hundreds of Israeli soldiers, with Palestinians saying the colonies makes their lives impossible.
