The World Heritage Committee Approves Four Decisions Regarding the State of Palestine by Consensus

SadaNews - The World Heritage Committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has unanimously adopted four decisions concerning the State of Palestine, related to the conservation status of Palestinian World Heritage sites listed under the UNESCO World Heritage in Danger.

These decisions, adopted during the 48th session of the committee held in Busan, Republic of Korea, from July 19 to July 29, 2026, included the Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls, the Old Town of Hebron, the Monastery of Saint Hilarion/Tel Umm Amer in the Gaza Strip, and Battir: the Cultural Landscape of South Jerusalem.

The committee reiterated the exceptional religious and cultural significance of the Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls for the three monotheistic religions, while keeping the four Palestinian sites on the list of World Heritage in Danger.

It asserted the nullity of all legislative and administrative measures taken by Israel aimed at altering the character and legal and historical status of these sites, including the so-called "Basic Law" regarding Jerusalem, deeming them void and without legal effect.

It called for the urgent dispatch of interactive monitoring missions to the Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls, and to the Old Town of Hebron, in cooperation with the World Heritage Center and the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), to conduct a professional and independent assessment of the conservation status of the sites and to provide necessary recommendations to protect their authenticity, integrity, and outstanding universal value.

The Permanent Representative of the State of Palestine to UNESCO, Ambassador Adel Attieh, warned in his speech that these violations fall within a systematic Israeli policy aimed at enhancing settlement and seizing Palestinian lands through control over cultural heritage sites, imposing a policy of Judaization in occupied Jerusalem, and continuing assaults on Islamic and Christian holy sites.

He also referred to recent assaults on the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, including construction works and the installation of a roof at one of its entrances without the consent of the State of Palestine or coordination with UNESCO, considering that this constitutes a violation of the World Heritage Convention and international rules concerning the protection of cultural property in the occupied Palestinian territory.

He called on UNESCO and member states to take their political and legal responsibilities seriously and to work on halting Israeli violations and holding Israel, the occupying power, accountable for violating relevant international agreements and resolutions.

The State of Palestine affirmed that protecting Palestinian cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible, is a collective international responsibility that requires safeguarding it as a genuine human heritage and protecting it from destruction, distortion, and falsification, while ensuring respect for the existing historical and legal status in the occupied Palestinian territory.

Ambassador Attieh expressed his gratitude and appreciation to the countries that supported the adoption of these decisions, affirming that the State of Palestine will continue to work with UNESCO and its specialized bodies and member states to follow up on their implementation, document violations, and mobilize the necessary international technical and legal support to protect and preserve Palestinian cultural heritage for future generations.

These decisions come amid escalating Israeli assaults on Palestinian cultural heritage sites, including those listed on the World Heritage List and the World Heritage in Danger List, and attempts to distort, defile, and desecrate them, alongside the ongoing violation of UNESCO's competences and international law regulations.

These violations continue particularly in occupied Jerusalem, through undermining freedom of worship and access to holy sites, alongside ongoing incursions by settlers into the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque/historical Al-Haram Al-Qudsi and repeated assaults on Islamic and Christian holy sites.