A UN committee voted to inscribe a West Bank archaeological site and five Lebanese castles as World Heritage sites, despite Israeli objections. Israel accused the Palestinian delegation of a "hostile, one-sided campaign" and attempting to "erase the site's profound, well-documented Jewish and Christian history."
The decision highlights ongoing geopolitical tensions in the region, with cultural heritage becoming a point of contention between Israel and Palestinian/Lebanese delegations at an international body.
A United Nations committee voted to inscribe a major archaeological site in the West Bank and a set of castles in southern Lebanon as World Heritage sites, despite objections from Israel. The decision by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in South Korea came after Israel's Foreign Ministry urged the committee to reject the nominations, labeling them a "weaponization of cultural heritage."
The committee placed Sebastia, a town in the Israeli-occupied West Bank identified as ancient Samara, and five castles in Lebanon’s Mount Amel area on both the World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger. Sebastia features archaeological remains from the Iron Age, Roman, Byzantine, and Islamic periods, and is also associated with Christian and Islamic tradition.
Israel's Foreign Ministry accused the Palestinian delegation of a "hostile, one-sided campaign" and a political attempt to "erase the site’s profound, well-documented Jewish and Christian history." Israel withdrew from UNESCO in 2019, citing bias against it.
Objections were also raised regarding Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon, which Israel claimed Hezbollah has turned into a military stronghold. UNESCO and the Lebanese embassy declined to comment on these claims. Separately, the ancient Phoenician city of Tyre in Lebanon was also placed on UNESCO's list of world heritage sites in danger.