The United States will review relations with UNESCO after the resolution on Hebron

The US ambassador to the UN, Niki Haley, said that the US would reconsider its cooperation with UNESCO after the organization declared the Tomb of the Patriarchs in the Old City of Hebron a Palestinian World Heritage Site.

He writes about it The Guardian.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization on Friday, 7 July, adopted its second resolution against Israel in less than a week.

Twelve countries in the World Heritage Committee voted in favor of a Palestinian request to name Hebron a heritage object, while only three voted against. Six countries abstained.

The resolution puts Hebron on the list of endangered heritage, which makes it possible to allocate direct assistance to the World Heritage Fund.

UNESCO will now annually assess the situation in the Old City, where several hundred Jewish settlers live under the military protection of Israel among more than 200 000 Palestinians.

The resolution notes that Hebron claims to become one of the oldest cities in the world, starting from the period of chalcolith or more than 3000 years BC and at various times conquering the Romans, Jews, Crusaders and Mamluks.

The religious significance of the city made it a center for Israeli settlers who are determined to expand their Jewish presence there.

“UNESCO's vote on Hebron is tragic on several levels. It represents an insult to history,” Haley said in a statement.

According to her, this resolution to destroy all efforts of the Trump administration to establish Israeli-Palestinian relations is the most important priority in Washington’s foreign policy.

“This undermines the trust that is necessary for a successful Israeli-Palestinian peace process. And this once again discredits an already very dubious UN agency. Today’s vote does not help anyone and does great harm,” she emphasized.

The decision was perceived by Palestinian officials as a diplomatic victory against pressure from Israel and the United States.

“The Palestinian state is sovereign, although it is under occupation. It acts within its full rights when it takes the initiative to nominate this city for inclusion on the World Heritage List. This city is on its territory,” said Elias Sanbar, Palestinian ambassador to Unesco.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry welcomed this decision as “the success of a diplomatic battle in which Palestine fought on all fronts”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it "another illusory decision of UNESCO," and said that Israel "will continue to protect the Cave of the Patriarchs, ensure freedom of religion for all and ... protect the truth."

“Who is buried there? Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Sarah, Rivka, Leah, our patriarchs and matriarchs. Is the place in danger? In fact, only in places where Israel is present, like Hebron, is there freedom of religion for all. In the Middle East they bomb mosques, churches and synagogues, in places where there is no Israel,” he continued.

Netanyahu announced a cut in Israel’s expenditures in favor of the UN in the amount of 1 million dollars and said that the money would be used to create a museum of Jewish heritage in the village of Kiryat Arba.

Although the United States continues to serve on the Executive Board of UNESCO, they no longer have the right to vote at General Conference.

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