UNESCO decision on Jerusalem is 'Sad, Pathetic'

"Israeli officials angrily rejected a resolution by a UN body condemning its activity in East Jerusalem and the Old City, with the Foreign Ministry saying the move was irrelevant.

After the United Nations Educational, Scientific, Cultural Organization's World Heritage Council on Tuesday evening passed a resolution denouncing Israeli activity in the Old City of Jerusalem, the Foreign Ministry responded by saying the decision cannot change the reality that Jerusalem is the capital of the Jewish people.

The Jordanian-sponsored resolution in the United Nations Educational, Scientific, Cultural Organization's World Heritage Council called Israel 'the occupying power' in the Old City of Jerusalem and reaffirmed previous UN resolutions denying the country's claims to East Jerusalem. Israel's annexation of East Jerusalem has never been recognized by the international community.

"Another bizarre and irrelevant decision by UNESCO, that is acting on behalf of the enemies of history and the truth,' the Foreign Ministry said in statement. 'Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the Jewish people, and no decision by UNESCO can change that reality. It is sad, unnecessary and pathetic. It is worth noting that the decision didn't even get a majority of votes.'...

Ten countries voted in favor of the text, which was significantly softer than previous resolutions. Only three member states - Jamaica, the Philippines and Burkina Faso - opposed the resolution, while eight abstained...

Jerusalem Affairs Minister Ze'ev Elkin lambasted UNESCO as 'detached from reality' and said Israel would not halt excavations or other activity in the Old City.

'This body continues to demonstrate its partisanship and its denial of the history of the Jewish people,' said Elkin...

Education Ministry Naftali Bennett, who heads an Israeli committee dealing with UNESCO, said the UN body was failing in its duties to protect world heritage sites by focusing instead on Israel.

'UNESCO's repeated fake claims do not change the Jewish connection to Jerusalem or reality on the ground,' said Bennett, who heads the Jewish Home party in the coalition. 'Jerusalem was the capital of the Jewish people long before Islam was introduced to the world, and it will remain Israel's capital forever.'

'Instead of protecting hundreds of sites destroyed by radical Islam, including the al-Nuri mosque in Mosul, UNESCO is acting against the only Middle Eastern country safeguarding all holy sites and granting worshipers religious freedom,' he said.

Israel's UN envoy Danny Danon also condemned the vote outcome as 'disgraceful.'

'Nothing is more disgraceful than UNESCO declaring the world's only Jewish state the 'occupier' of the Western Wall and Jerusalem's Old City,' Danon says in a statement.

'Yesterday, I toured the City of David and the Old City with UN ambassadors from around the world and explained the deep and ancient connection between the Jewish people and the holiest sites of our nation. No faux 'heritage committee' can sever the bonds between our people and Jerusalem.'..."