The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates welcomed the unanimous adoption of two resolutions on Palestine by the Executive Board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), during its 224th session held in Paris.
In a statement, the Ministry said the renewed international consensus reaffirms the rights of the Palestinian people and underscores the responsibility of the international community toward the occupied State of Palestine, particularly in protecting its heritage from Israel’s systematic campaigns targeting Palestinian history, cultural identity, and historical narrative through falsification, distortion, and attempts to erase Palestinian presence.
The Ministry stressed that the resolutions reject all Israeli measures aimed at altering the legal and historical status of occupied Jerusalem, the capital of the State of Palestine, reiterating that Israel has no sovereignty over any part of the occupied Palestinian territory, especially Jerusalem.
It emphasized the importance of the resolutions in safeguarding Palestinian historical, cultural, and archaeological sites, including those inscribed on the World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger.
This includes occupied Jerusalem and its Old City walls, the Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif, which continues to face excavations and tunneling that threaten its structural integrity, as well as the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, Bilal Bin Rabah Mosque in Bethlehem, and other endangered heritage sites.
The Ministry added that protecting educational and cultural institutions remains a national and international priority, noting the resolution’s condemnation of Israel’s ongoing closure of Gaza’s crossings, which obstructs the entry of humanitarian aid at a time when the Gaza Strip urgently requires reconstruction and development.
The statement also expressed appreciation for the pivotal role of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in sponsoring the resolutions, and for the support of all sisterly and friendly states that backed Palestine’s position at UNESCO.
The Ministry called on the international community and UNESCO to take immediate action to compel Israel, the occupying power, to halt its violations in Jerusalem and across the occupied Palestinian territory, and to implement international law and relevant UN resolutions, including UNESCO decisions calling for the dispatch of a fact-finding mission and for the protection of Palestinian cultural, historical, and religious heritage.
It warned that the failure to enforce these resolutions encourages Israel to continue its crimes with impunity.
