UNESCO and Jerusalem’s Muslim holy sites

The UNESCO resolution on Jerusalem, adopted earlier this month, has been severely distorted in the way media — and Israel — presented it.

Israel claims, clearly to rally support against the balanced and correct UNESCO decision, that the resolution denies Jewish reverence for the Haram Al Sharif/Al Aqsa Mosque compound.

This is simply untrue. In fact, the resolution explicitly affirms “the importance of the Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls for the three monotheistic religions”. The resolution does however deny Israel’s false claim of owning the site.

Being “important”, however, does not give the occupying power any right or ownership claim, or change of character of the place at the expense of the rightful owners and in flagrant defiance of international law.

This is the whole point of the resolution: to push back against Israel’s efforts to monopolise Jerusalem’s holy sites to the exclusion of everyone else.

The resolution reaffirms, for instance, that the Mughrabi Ascent — a ramp rising from  below the Western Wall — “is an integral and inseparable part of Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif”.

This has been hailed as an important verdict on the site’s status as a shrine holy to Muslims worldwide, negating many of Israel’s false claims.

But the text includes many other significant decisions that should all be portrayed properly and in their full context.

The resolution finds that the Al Haram Al Ibrahimi/Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron and the Bilal Ibn Rabah Mosque/Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem “are an integral part of Palestine”.

At the same time, the resolution affirms that “the two sites are of religious significance for Judaism, Christianity and Islam”.

There is absolutely no contradiction.

But both of these sites have in recent years been targets for encroachment and occupation, in whole or in part, by Israeli settlers whose presence is a violation of international law.

So, naturally, the resolution condemns “the ongoing Israeli illegal excavations, works, construction of private roads for settlers and a separation wall inside the Old City of Al Khalil/Hebron, that harmfully affect the integrity of the site, and the subsequent denial of freedom of movement and freedom of access to places of worship” for Palestinians.

What the resolution objects to is Israel’s practices against the Palestinians, Muslim and Christian, and the Israeli occupiers’ actions, not any religious attachment Jews or anyone else may profess for any specific site.

None of this should be controversial: the UNESCO resolution cites the many references in international law on which it is based, including the Geneva Conventions, several conventions on protecting cultural property, the inscription of the Old City of Jerusalem and its walls at the request of Jordan in the World Heritage List (1981) and many UN resolutions.

With respect to Jerusalem, the resolution simply calls on Israel, “the occupying power, to allow the restoration of the historic status quo that prevailed until September 2000, under which the Jordanian Awqaf (Religious Foundation) Department Exercised exclusive authority on Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif, and its mandate extended to all affairs relating to the unimpeded administration of Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif, including maintenance, restoration and regulating access”.

This call is necessitated by the fact that Israel has worked aggressively to change this status quo: the resolution “strongly condemns the escalating Israeli aggression and illegal measures” at the site that block the work of the Awqaf and restrict freedom of worship.

The UNESCO resolution notes that Israel has, with increasing frequency, raided Al Aqsa Mosque compound with armed forces, as right-wing extremists make regular incursions.

While Israel claims that these are simply Jews wishing to pray, the fact is they are part of the government-funded “Temple Movement” whose openly declared goal is to destroy the existing Muslim holy sites and replace them with a Jewish temple. 

Nothing could be more dangerous than this movement that has been growing in recent years.

Israel’s attempt to falsely portray the UNESCO resolution as anti-Israel, and even anti-Semitic, is no different from its usual reaction to any other UN resolution condemning its illegal actions in Palestinian and other occupied Arab territories.

Israel is known for its blatant disregard for international law and of its treaty obligations to Jordan. 

The daily incursions of Jewish extremists and fanatic Israeli settlers on Al Aqsa Mosque and Al Haram Al Sharif in flagrant and defiant violation of the Jordanian Hashemite Custodianship of the Jerusalem holy places is further proof of Israel’s lawlessness.

Rightly so, Israel’s wars and the ongoing 10-year-old siege on Gaza are also addressed in this UNESCO resolution.

What is tragic, however, is that several governments, including Mexico and Brazil, and various UN officials, including Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and UNESCO Director Irina Bokova, have been influenced by the Israeli propaganda campaign and criticised the precise and balanced UNESCO resolution.

The most generous explanation is that they have failed to look at the facts.

Jordan, for instance, submitted a report to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, detailing Israel’s so-called archaeological excavations that are damaging Jerusalem’s holy sites. In fact, these excavations are nothing more than cover for Israel’s handover of occupied territory to fanatical settlers.

The UNESCO resolution is courageous and correct, and its members should not succumb to any pressure for revision.

It is time that the UN put an end to the impunity that has been encouraging Israel’s intransigence and aggression for decades.