Ancient ruins now World Heritage Site in ‘Palestine’
"The property proposed for nomination is the prehistoric archaeological site of Tell es-Sultan located outside the antique site of Jericho," Ernesto Ottone, UNESCO's assistant director general, said during the meeting to discuss the site.
(TIMES OF ISRAEL, AP) – A UN conference voted on Sunday to list ruins near the ancient West Bank city of Jericho as a “World Heritage Site in Palestine”.
Jericho is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities on earth, and is in a part of the West Bank administered by the Palestinian Authority. The listing refers to the Tell es-Sultan archaeological site nearby, which contains prehistoric ruins dating back to the ninth millennium BCE and is outside the ancient city itself.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the UN World Heritage Committee in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, under the auspices of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, UNESCO.
The ancient city joins three other “UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Palestine”: the Church of the Nativity and the pilgrimage route in Bethlehem, the cultural landscape of southern Jerusalem and Battir, and the Old City in Hebron.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry said it viewed the move as “another sign of Palestinians’ cynical use of UNESCO and politicisation of the organisation” and promised to work “to change the distorted decisions that have been made”.
Israel quit UNESCO in 2019, accusing it of being biased against it and of diminishing its connection to the Holy Land. Israel also objected to UNESCO’s acceptance of Palestine as a member state in 2011. But Israel remains a party to the World Heritage Convention, and it sent a delegation to the meeting in Riyadh.
Tell es-Sultan, an oval-shaped mound, contains evidence of one of humanity’s first-known villages and an important Bronze-Age town dating back to 2600 BCE It is around two kilometres from the remains of the first city of Jericho, which contains ruins of importance to Jewish history, including a synagogue dating back to the first century BCE.
UNESCO, which refers to the site as Ancient Jericho/Tell es-Sultan, took pains to clarify that the two are distinct.
“The property proposed for nomination is the prehistoric archaeological site of Tell es-Sultan located outside the antique site of Jericho,” Ernesto Ottone, UNESCO’s assistant director general, said during the meeting to discuss the site.
“Later historical developments, which span over millennia and are demonstrated by material remains beyond the boundaries of Tell as-Sultan, constitute a rich cultural context, worthy of historical interest and preservation, covering among others, Jewish and Christian heritage. However, this is not the focus of the proposed nomination.”
The Palestinian Authority welcomed the designation.
President Mahmoud Abbas said in a statement that it “testifies to the authenticity and history of the Palestinian people”, adding, “The state of Palestine is committed to preserving this unique site for the benefit of mankind.”
Ahead of the vote, Likud MK Dan Illouz wrote on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, that he had written to UNESCO head Audrey Azoulay.
“Such a decision would constitute a blatant interference by UNESCO in a conflict in which it is not its role to intervene,” Illouz charged. “It is our duty to stop the Palestinian Authority’s subversion, and insist on our right to our land.”
comments