Post date: Oct 24, 2011 2:17:48 PM
Palestinians will seek World Heritage status for Bethlehem- the birthplace of Jesus if the U.N. cultural agency admits them as a full member.
BETHLEHEM, WEST BANK (RECENT) (REUTERS) - The Palestinians will seek World Heritage status for the birthplace of Jesus once the U.N. cultural agency admits them as a full member, and will then nominate other sites on Israeli-occupied land for the same standing, an official said.
Kholoud Daibes, the Palestinian Authority minister of Tourism and Antiques, said UNESCO membership was the Palestinians' natural right. She described as "regrettable" the objections of some governments including the United States.
"The question is not if the Palestinian has the right (to be a full member in UNESCO) but why the Palestinians until now are not a member of this international organization? So it is too late now, but there was cooperation on many levels especially to preserve the Palestinian cultural heritage from the Israeli deliberate destruction," explained Daibes.
UNESCO's board decided last week to let member states vote on a Palestinian application for full membership, seen as part of a Palestinian drive opposed by Israel and the United States for recognition as a state in the U.N. system.
She said that after gaining full UNESCO membership, the Palestinians will revive their bid to secure World Heritage status for Bethlehem and its Church of the Nativity, revered as the birthplace of Jesus. The nomination was rejected this year because the Palestinians were not a full UNESCO member.
"It is well known that Israel the occupation state is breaking all the international charters. Means that if Israel is above the Law; the accepting of Palestine as a member in UNESCO will not preserve the Palestinian heritage. But the Full membership we allow us to nominate other places for the world heritage list," she added.
The vote on Palestinian membership is expected at UNESCO's General Conference, which runs from October 25 to November 10. The Palestinians have had observer status at UNESCO since 1974.
The United States opposes the move, seeing it as part of a unilateral Palestinian bid to bypass the two-decade-old peace process. Washington says negotiations with Israel are the only way for the Palestinians to achieve their goal of statehood in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.
UNESCO is the first U.N. agency to which the Palestinians have applied for full membership since President Mahmoud Abbas submitted their request to become a member state of the United Nations on September 23, also in the face of stiff U.S. opposition.
Israel's ambassador to UNESCO has condemned the move, saying politicising UNESCO will undermine its ability to carry out its mandate.
For the Resident of Bethlehem Hisham Khimaees; the recognition of Palestinian state helps to increase the local income from tourism.
"First thing it means to me as a resident that the importance of Bethlehem city will internationally increase. Also the tourists will come more to Bethlehem and this is good for the city of Bethlehem and its' resident and will increase the national income of Bethlehem," Khimaees said.
The territories where the Palestinians aim to found their state are home to a plethora of ancient sites, many of biblical significance, as well as sites of natural importance such as the Dead Sea.
Aside from Bethlehem, the Palestinian Authority has listed ancient pilgrimage routes and the West Bank towns of Nablus and Hebron among 20 cultural and natural heritage sites which Taha said could also be nominated as World Heritage Sites.
These are likely to include Hebron, an ancient city home to a shrine holy to Jews and Muslims, which is one of the most volatile spots in the West Bank.
Mayor of Hebron, Khaled Oseily described the Palestinians' motives as "purely cultural."
"We hope that Palestine will be accepted as a full membership at UNESCO, and I think it is our right as Palestinians and as Palestinian state because we have the same rights and duties as well as all nations in the world," Oseily told Reuters Television.
Yet issues of heritage can be as incendiary as any in the Middle East. Last year, violence erupted in Hebron following an Israeli decision to include the Tomb of the Patriarchs, also known as the Ibrahimi Mosque, in an Israeli state plan to rehabilitate Jewish and Zionist heritage sites.