The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has adopted a resolution condemning the Zionist entity for restricting the freedom of worship at Al-Aqsa mosque and for mishandling holy sites.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has adopted a resolution condemning the Zionist entity for restricting the freedom of worship at Al-Aqsa mosque and for mishandling holy sites.
The resolution submitted by Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates on behalf of Palestine, was adopted Wednesday with 26 votes in favor, six against, including the United States, Britain and Germany, and 25 abstentions, including France.
The adopted resolution referred to Jerusalem as "the occupied capital of Palestine". It condemned "restrictions of freedom of worship at the Al-Aqsa mosque", reaffirmed other complaints about the Zionist management of holy sites and the entity's actions in al-Quds, the West Bank, and Gaza.
The head of UN's cultural body, Irina Bokova, called on the UNESCO board Tuesday "to take decisions that do not further inflame tensions on the ground and that encourage respect for the sanctity of the holy sites".
"We all have responsibility to UNESCO’s mandate, to take decisions that promote dialogue, tolerance and peace," Bokova said in a statement.
The six-page draft resolution also called on the international community to condemn the Zionist entity for urging the settlers "to bear arms in light of the recent terror wave".
The approved text also reaffirmed that two holy sites, the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Al-Khalil and Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem, were "an integral part of Palestine".
Jewish lawmakers condemned the claim that the Zionist entity is responsible for the violence, and 19 Zionist lawmakers slammed UNESCO for its vote charging the occupation authorities with changing the status quo at a al-Aqsa holy site.
As a result, UNESCO has dropped the clause calling for the recognition of the Western Wall an Islamic site.
The UNESCO move comes as at least 54 Palestinians have been killed by occupation soldiers since the beginning of October.
