UNESCO condemns Israeli violations in ‘occupied Palestine’

AMMAN — The executive board of UNESCO on Tuesday endorsed draft resolutions that Jordan and Palestine have jointly presented, with Arab, Islamic and international support. 

The draft resolutions addressed Israeli violations in occupied Jerusalem, the Magharbeh Gate, Hebron and Gaza, and against educational institutions.

The resolutions were presented under one heading: “Occupied Palestine”.

The endorsement took place during the 195th session of the executive board being held in Paris. The board stressed that the legal definition of Israel is an “occupation force”.

All Israeli practices in Palestinian territories occupied in 1967 and any change to the pre-1967 status quo is a violation and an illegal occupation measure, the resolution stipulated, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra. 

The unified Jordanian-Palestinian proposal conforms to His Majesty King Abdullah’s directives to the government to seek all measures, including legal action if necessary, to halt unilateral practices for defending Al Aqsa Mosque and holy sites, Petra said.

The King is the custodian of holy shrines in the holy city, as stipulated in the 1994 peace treaty with Israel and an agreement signed with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. 

According to the resolutions, UNSECO rejects Israeli escalatory measures in implementing unprecedented plans and committing violations that threaten the occupied holy city’s heritage.

Such practices include Israeli security forces’ continuous storming of the courtyard of Al Aqsa Mosque, preventing worshippers from reaching the mosque, direct assaults on Islamic awqaf staff, continuous excavations in Old Jerusalem and banning awqaf authorities from implementing restoration projects inside Al Aqsa.

The resolution called on Israel to immediately stop all these violations. 

UNSECO also condemned all Israeli changes to Al Magharbeh Gate, the only pathway for non-Muslims into the compound, and demanded Israel as an occupation force to allow the Jordanian Awqaf Department to restore the bridge and use a Jordanian design to rebuild it. 

It also demanded that occupation authorities stop the excavations in the area, respect UNESCO’s decisions and observe the guarantees that Israel has provided that it would not alter the nature of Al Magharbeh Gate from the way it was before 1967.

The UN agency also urged occupation authorities to accept UNESCO’s expert mission tasked with examining the situation in East Jerusalem and Al Magharbeh Gate.

The resolutions also denounced the Israeli targeting of civilians, children, schools and other educational institutions in Gaza, and called on Israel to lift the siege according to the Cairo agreement stipulating a long-term ceasefire between Israel and Palestine. 

UNSECO also condemned Israeli violations in the old city of Hebron where citizens were deprived of their rights of transport and worship.