Israel Claims Partial Victory as UNESCO Delays Vote to Erase Jewish Ties to Temple Mount

"The failed Turkish coup over the weekend delayed until October a UNESCO vote on Jerusalem that ignores Jewish ties to the Temple Mount.

The 21-members of the World Heritage Committee had been scheduled to vote on the matter in the coming days as it wrapped up its 40th session in Istanbul which had been scheduled to run from July 10 to July 20.

But in the aftermath of Saturday's failed coup, the body cut the session short and debated only a limited number of items before concluding the Istanbul meeting.

The Palestinian delegation, along with Lebanon and Peru, pushed for the resolution to be heard on Sunday in spite of the condensed agenda.

But the European Union, which has four member states on the World Heritage Committee, backed Israel's request for a delay.

'It is rare that our opinion wins out against the Palestinians and the Arab states,' Israel's Ambassador to UNESCO in Paris, Carmel Shama, said...

But Shama cautioned that what Israel had achieved here was simply to gain time to combat the resolution, which will be raised this fall at a Paris meeting of the World Heritage Committee..."