Israel Matzav

UNESCO gives 'Palestinians' control over church they defaced

Ignoring the advice of its technical advisory committee, the Secretariat of UNESCO voted on Friday 13-6 with two abstentions to grant an 'emergency' request to make the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem an historic site of the 'Palestinian Authority.' The vote was by secret ballot.

The World Heritage’s technical advisory body, as well it’s the committee’s secretariat both advised the committee prior to its Friday meeting that the application did not meet the necessary criteria to be listed through the emergency procedure. But 13 of the 21 member states on the committee disregarded that advice.

Israel’s ambassador to UNESCO, Nimrod Barkan said that it was a mistake for the committee to ignore the technical advice of its own advisers.

There was no link he said between the water damage to the church roof and its placement on the list through an emergency procedure. He noted that nothing prevented the Palestinian Authority from fixing the roof.

The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) blasted the decision as proof that UNESCO is motivated by political objectives and not cultural ones.

"Instead of the Palestinians taking steps to further peace, they are acting in a unilateral way that only distances peace," a statement released by the PMO read. "The world must remember that the church of the Nativity which is holy to Christianity was desecrated by Palestinian terrorists."

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Meanwhile, Gideon Koren, Israel's Vice President of the International Council on Monuments and Sites slammed the decision as "irresponsible." The US Ambassador to UNESCO David Killion also criticized the move, saying he was "profoundly disappointed by the decision."

Am I the only one considering the possibility that the US could be 'profoundly disappointed' but have voted in favor via the secret ballot? The 'Palestinians' defaced the Church of the Nativity in 2002. No comment from the Vatican yet.

Labels: Church of the Nativity, Palestinian Authority, Palestinian state RIGHT NOW syndrome, UNESCO

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 2:22 AM