Palestine site gets UNESCO tag, put on heritage in danger list

Speaking on the occasion, Palestine’s Ambassador to UNESCO, Munir Anastas, criticised Israel for causing destruction of cultural property on the Gaza strip, and called upon all State Parties to ask Israel to end the war.

“Once a property is inscribed on the World Heritage List of Humanity, it becomes a property of all humanity. This means that all State Parties are responsible for the protection of any property on the World Heritage List,” he said.

The site’s inclusion on the list of World Heritage in Danger automatically opens the door to enhanced international technical and financial assistance mechanisms to guarantee its protection and, if necessary, to help facilitate its rehabilitation, the statement said.

“This inscription is very important for us because it is a message of hope to our people in Gaza, who are fleeing bombs with no shelter, no food or water. Through this inscription, we tell them we have not forgotten you, and UNESCO has not forgotten you either,” he said.

Israel is a signatory to the UNESCO convention on World Heritage and as per its terms, the 195 State Parties are “committed to avoid taking any deliberate measures likely to cause direct or indirect damage to this site, and to assist in its protection,” the statement said.

The ruins of Saint Hilarion Monastery/ Tell Umm Amer, represent one of the earliest monastic sites in the Middle East, dating back to the 4th century. It was the first community in the Holy Land and the monastery occupied a strategic position at the crossroads of major trade and communication routes between Asia and Africa. It was a centre for religious, cultural and economic exchanges, exemplifying the prosperity of desert centres during the Byzantine period.

In December 2023, at its 18th session, the UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict had already decided to grant ‘provisional enhanced protection’ to the monastery under the 1954 Hague Convention and its Second Protocol.