Mahmoud Illean/AP
Tell es-Sultan archaeological site in Jericho, West Bank.
Jerusalem
CNN
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The United Nations World Heritage Committee voted on Sunday to list the archaeological site of Tell es-Sultan in Jericho as a “World Heritage Site in Palestine”.
The decision was made at a conference held in Riyadh, UNESCO said X accountformerly known as Twitter.
The Palestinian Authority welcomed the decision, while Israel expressed outrage.
The newly designated site, located in Jericho in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, contains ruins dating back to the ninth millennium BC. Jericho itself is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.
The Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the decision, hailing it as a recognition of Jericho’s “cultural, economic and political importance” and a testament to “10,000 years of human development”, according to a statement released on Sunday.
04:28 – Source: CNN
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Palestinian Authority Tourism and Monuments Minister Rula Ma’ayah emphasized the significance of the decision, calling the site an integral and valuable part of Palestine’s diverse heritage, according to a statement sent to CNN on Sunday.
“The outstanding universal value of the site qualifies it as one of the World Heritage Sites,” Ma’ayah said.
However, Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its disapproval of the decision, saying it saw the action as “another sign of the cynical use of UNESCO by the Palestinians and the politicization of the organization”.
Located in the Jordan Valley, Jericho is located between the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west.
In 2010, Jericho was hailed as the oldest fortified city in the world, dating back to the modern Stone Age.
