Haaretz
Jericho is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities on earth, and is located in the Israeli-occupied West Bank that is administered by the Palestinian Authority Israel's Foreign Ministry deemed the decision 'another sign of the Palestinians' cynical use of UNESCO'
"Nir Hasson and The Associated Press report in Haaretz on 17 September 2023:
A United Nations conference voted Sunday to list ruins of the ancient West Bank city of Jericho as a World Heritage Site in Palestine.
The decision prompted a harsh response from Israel’s Foreign Ministry, which deemed it in a statement published Sunday evening “another sign of the Palestinians’ cynical use of UNESCO and their politicization of it.”
“Israel will work alongside its many friends in the organization in order to change all of [these] distorted decisions,” it added. Jericho is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities on earth, and is in a part of the Israeli-occupied West Bank that is administered by the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority. The listing refers to the Tel es-Sultan archaeological site nearby, which contains ruins dating back to the 9th millennium B.C.E
This is the fourth site in the West Bank to receive UN recognition as a world heritage site, but it is the first one to be awarded this designation through the standard protocol rather than being processed on an emergency basis. The Old City in Hebron and the terrace system of the village of Battir were recognized using an emergency protocol, and the designation was seen as part of the Palestinians’ political struggle against the Israeli occupation.
The Old City of Jerusalem was previously recognized as a world heritage site, after its inclusion was proposed by Jordan. The designation for Jericho, which refers to the nearby Tell es-Sultan archaeological site, was recognized through the standard protocol. The State of Palestine is listed as the state party for this site as well as for Battir and Hebron/Al-Khalil Old Town.
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 Organization, UNESCO.
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.
The visit to Saudi Arabia by the Israeli delegation to the UNESCO conference is considered another step in the rapprochement between the two countries under U.S. pressure to reach an Israeli-Saudi peace agreement.
In recent weeks, Israeli right-wing figures have exerted pressure in an attempt to prevent Tell es-Sultan’s approval as a world heritage site.
Last week, lawmakers from the Knesset’s Land of Israel caucus sent letters to the representatives of the member states of the World Heritage Convention demanding that the site not be recognized. The heads of the caucus, MKs Yuli Edelstein (Likud), Limor Son Har-Melech (Otzma Yehudit) and Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionism) argued that the Palestinian Authority is waging a campaign to deny Jewish history in the West Bank and is blocking Israelis’ access to heritage sites.
They also wrote that the PA turned Jericho into a center of terrorism and that the fact that Jericho is mentioned in the Bible 53 times gives Israel primacy in the city. The Israeli delegation to Riyadh was also asked to try to prevent the adoption of the resolution.
Emek Shaveh, an Israeli nonprofit that says it is “working to prevent the politicization of archaeology in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” supported Tell es-Sultan’s designation as a world heritage site.
According to the organization, the opposition by parties in Israel’s governing coalition to the designation must be understood against the background of the right’s campaign to annex the West Bank to Israel. ”
The arguments used in this campaign stem from an ultra-nationalist world view which considers the Jewish people and the State of Israel the only rightful inheritors of the biblical land of Israel from the river to the sea. They quote from a biblical narrative that has little to do with historical or archaeological research of the site.”
The modern city of Jericho is a major draw for tourism to the Palestinian territories, both because of its historical sites and proximity to the Dead Sea. In 2021, the Palestinian Authority unveiled major renovations to one of the largest mosaics in the Middle East, in a Jericho palace dating back to the 8th century.
Israel captured the West Bank, along with Gaza and east Jerusalem, in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want all three territories for their future state. Israel views the West Bank as the biblical and cultural heartland of the Jewish people."
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