Israel suspends co-op with UNESCO‎

Sat Nov 6, 2010

Israel has suspended cooperation with a UN body to protest describing of the historic sites in the occupied Palestinian territories as Palestinian.

UNESCO angered Israel in late October by naming the historic sites in the occupied West Bank and al-Quds (Jerusalem) -- sacred to both Muslims and Jews -- as Palestinian.

The board of the UN's cultural organization, in its biannual session on October 21, adopted five proposals initiated by Muslim member states regarding sites which are considered holy to both Muslims and Jews.

Israel, in early 2010, annexed two West Bank holy sites -- the Ibrahimi Mosque (Cave of the Patriarchs) and the Bilal Mosque (Rachel's Tomb) to their heritage list.

Palestinians view the additions of the shrines to Israel's heritage list as a land grab.

Referring to the Bilal Mosque in its statement, the UNESCO board voted 44 to one, with 12 abstentions, to reaffirm the site was "an integral part of the occupied Palestinian territories and that any unilateral action by Israeli authorities is to be considered a violation of international law,” dpa reported late Friday.

"Israel has suspended cooperation with UNESCO," Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon told parliament, according to a statement from his office late Friday.

Ayalon said ties with UNESCO would remain frozen until it repealed the decision describing the tomb as a mosque, a definition Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described as "absurd."

UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova Bokova endorsed a statement by Robert Serry, UN coordinator for the Middle East peace process, that the sites have "historical and religious significance not only to Judaism but also to Islam and to Christianity."

She also "expressed her concern" at the heritage plan and the "resulting escalation of tension in the area."

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/149796.html.