UNESCO condemns Israeli 'aggression' on Temple Mount
- 9 years ago
UNESCO passed a resolution Wednesday condemning ongoing Israeli archaeological excavations near the Temple Mount and elsewhere in Jerusalem's Old City.
The resolution proposal had originally sought to name the Western Wall a Muslim religious site, but Arab states struck that demand from the draft earlier in the day.
It also condemned the "aggression and illegal measures taken against the freedom of worship and access of Muslims to Al-Aqsa Mosque and Israel's attempts to break the status quo since 1967."
Twenty-six UNESCO representatives voted in favor of the resolution, six voted against, and twenty-five abstained.
The vote came hours after the Arab states withdrew their demand that UNESCO declare the Western Wall an "integral part" of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Jerusalem's Temple Mount.
All references to Jerusalem as "the occupied capital of Palestine" were withdrawn from the draft, as was a call for the international community to condemn Israel for urging "civilians to carry weapons whenever they leave their homes."
The resolution proposal had originally sought to name the Western Wall a Muslim religious site, but Arab states struck that demand from the draft earlier in the day.
It also condemned the "aggression and illegal measures taken against the freedom of worship and access of Muslims to Al-Aqsa Mosque and Israel's attempts to break the status quo since 1967."
Twenty-six UNESCO representatives voted in favor of the resolution, six voted against, and twenty-five abstained.
The vote came hours after the Arab states withdrew their demand that UNESCO declare the Western Wall an "integral part" of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Jerusalem's Temple Mount.
All references to Jerusalem as "the occupied capital of Palestine" were withdrawn from the draft, as was a call for the international community to condemn Israel for urging "civilians to carry weapons whenever they leave their homes."