Pursuant to the proclamation by the UNESCO Executive Board of the two Palestinian sites of Al-Haram Al Ibrahimi in Al- Khalil and the Bilal Ibn Rabah Mosque in Bethlehem as an integral part of Palestine, Israel suspends cooperation with UNESCO.
This suspension was the result of adopting two draft decisions on Thursday, 13 October 2016, by UNESCO, that took place in continuation of the 2011 recognition by UNESCO of Palestine as an official Member State of the Organisation. Of the members of the UNESCO Executive Board 24 of them, including the IR of Iran, voted in favour of these decisions and 6 members voted against it. The importance of these votes are even more highlighted when we see that these international decisions have clearly referred to the Israeli Government as “the Occupying Power” and call on Israel to “restore the original character of the landscape around the site” and to “cease the persistent excavations and works in East Jerusalem particularly in and around the Old City”.
This decision also serves to avoid the demolishing of the first Qibla of the Muslims in accordance with and in the framework of binding international instruments.
Both decisions strongly disapprove “the ongoing Israeli illegal works, construction of private roads for settlers and a separation wall inside the Old City of Al-Khalil”, demanding the “Israeli authorities to restore the original character of the landscape around the site” and the City. They deplore “the military confrontations in and around the Gaza Strip, including the killing and injury of thousands of Palestinian civilians, including children, as well as the continuous negative impact in the fields of competence of UNESCO, the attacks on schools and other educational and cultural facilities…”, under the provisions of the UNESCO conventions, resolutions and decisions.
UNESCO also “deeply regrets the Israeli refusal to comply with 185 EX/Decision 15, which requested the Israeli authorities to remove the two Palestinian sites from its national Heritage list and calls on the Israel authorities to act in accordance with that decision”.
In view of the purposeful abstention of Israel from implementing the previous decisions and related resolutions of UNESCO, the Organisation “decides to include these matters under the item entitled “Occupied Palestine” in the agenda of the Executive Board at its 201st session”.
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