Nativity Church to UNESCO Heritage List
Despite all US-"Israeli" pressure, the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, along with the Pilgrimage Route, was added on Friday to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's World Heritage List.
The move that was celebrated by Palestinians who hailed it as a significant political and diplomatic achievement as much as a cultural one.
Hanan Ashrawi, who leads the Palestine Liberation Organization's Department of Culture and Information, called the 13-to-6 vote of the World Heritage Committee meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia, "a welcome recognition by the international community of our historical and cultural rights in this land."
The venerated church, the traditional birthplace of Prophet Jesus, was the first such site to be nominated since Palestine was granted full membership in UNESCO, eight months ago.
"Israel" and the United States lobbied strongly against the church's listing, which was approved with two countries abstaining, just as they had opposed Palestine's UNESCO membership.
"This is proof that UNESCO is motivated by political considerations and not cultural ones," the "Israeli" prime minister's office said in a statement after the vote. "Instead of taking steps to advance peace," it claimed, "the Palestinians are acting unilaterally in ways that only distance it."
Particularly galling for "Israel" was the fact that the church was also placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger, which UNESCO attributed to the damage it has suffered from water leaks. Palestinian officials have also declared that the site is endangered by "Israel".
Palestinians had pointed to the dangers of "Israeli" occupation and cited in particular Israel's 2002 siege of the Church of the Nativity where resistance men took sanctuary during the Palestinian Intifada.
Ashrawi said in a statement that "Friday's decision emphasizes that "Israel" must be bound by international law and treaties, particularly pertaining to its illegal and detrimental measures as a belligerent occupant and as a major threat to the safety and the responsible preservation of that important segment of human civilization in Palestine."
Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org
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