UNESCO has included the site of Tel al-Sultan in the Palestinian city of Jericho in the West Bank on the World Heritage List. Tell Sultan, which is considered older than the pyramids of Egypt, is located in the Jordan Valley. It is an oval hill that contains deposits from before the history of human activity.
On Sunday, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) included the site of Tel al-Sultan in the Palestinian city of Jericho in the occupied West Bank on the World Heritage List.
UNESCO's decision came during the forty-fifth meeting of its World Heritage Committee, which is being held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Assistant Director-General of the United Nations, Ernesto Ottone, said during a session held to include the site on the list, “The site proposed for nomination is the archaeological site of Tell al-Sultan, which dates back to prehistoric times, and is located outside the archaeological site of Jericho.”
A UNESCO diplomat, who preferred to remain anonymous, confirmed to Agence France-Presse that “there are no Jewish or Christian remains at the site. It is a site of prehistoric remains dating back to between 10,000 and 700 years BC.”
The official pointed out that the site was nominated three years ago before it was listed this year, and added, "There was no objection from any member state."
Tal al-Sultan, considered older than the pyramids of Egypt, is located in the Jordan Valley. It is an oval hill containing deposits from before the history of human activity, and includes the Ain al-Sultan spring next to it.
According to the organization's website, "a permanent settlement appeared at the site in the period between the ninth and eighth millennium BC, due to the fertile soil of the oasis and easy access to water."
The site is located 10 kilometers north of the Dead Sea, and 2 kilometers north of Jericho city center.
Palestinian welcome
The official Palestinian News Agency (Wafa) reported that President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the decision, describing it as “extremely important and evidence of the authenticity and history of this people.”
As for the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Rula Maayah, who is in Riyadh, she stressed the importance of the decision, considering that the site constitutes “an integral part of the diverse Palestinian heritage of exceptional human value.”
The announcement of the site’s inclusion on the World Heritage List coincided with a celebratory conference in the city of Jericho, as the announcement was broadcast via video conferencing technology.
For his part, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism, Saleh Tawafsha, said that the ministry submitted a complete file about the site to the UN committee.
Tawafsha added, "This is the beginning, and we will submit files to other sites."
It is worth noting that Israel has occupied the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since 1967.
The occupation injures Palestinians, including two journalists, in protests against the storming of Al-Aqsa
A number of Palestinians were injured after the Israeli army dispersed demonstrations in solidarity with Al-Aqsa Mosque, near the separation fence in the eastern Gaza Strip. While two Palestinian fishermen were injured by Israeli naval gunfire while they were fishing in the sea south of the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian youths were injured on Sunday after the Israeli army dispersed demonstrations in solidarity with Al-Aqsa Mosque, near the separation fence in the eastern Gaza Strip.
Medical sources reported that a number of young Palestinians were directly injured by rubber bullets and gas bombs, and cases of suffocation occurred as a result of the Israeli army dispersing demonstrations near the fence separating the Gaza Strip and Israel.
Among the injured were two Palestinian journalists who were directly hit by gas bombs, and the nature of their injuries has not yet been determined.
On the other hand, two Palestinian fishermen were injured on Sunday by Israeli naval gunfire while they were fishing in the sea south of the Gaza Strip.
Nizar Ayyash, head of the Palestinian Fishermen's Syndicate in Gaza, said, "A Palestinian fisherman and his son were injured by live bullets in the lower parts of the body, by Israeli naval forces while they were working in the sea of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, to catch fish."
On Sunday, hundreds of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip flocked to the separation fence to participate in demonstrations denouncing the Israeli settlers’ storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque and emptying it of worshippers.
The Israeli army did not issue an immediate comment regarding the events taking place near the separation fence.
Earlier on Sunday, 303 settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem, on the occasion of the so-called “Hebrew New Year,” with the Israeli police emptying the Al-Aqsa Mosque of worshippers, according to what the Islamic Endowments Department in Jerusalem announced in a brief statement, a copy of which reached Anatolia.
Israeli settlers forced into Al-Aqsa to celebrate Jewish New Year
Hundreds of Israeli settlers on Sunday (17/9) forced their way into the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in occupied East Jerusalem to celebrate the Jewish New Year.
Israeli settlers celebrated the Rosh Hashanah (New Year) holiday on September 15-17 this year. They will also observe the Sukkot holiday at the end of September and the Simhat Torah holiday on October 6.
In a brief statement, the Jordanian-run Department of Islamic Endowments said 303 settlers stormed into the mosque compound under Israeli police protection early Sunday.
They said Israeli forces cleared the Al-Aqsa compound of Palestinian worshipers before allowing the settlers to enter.
According to the statement, Palestinians under the age of 50 are prohibited from entering the complex.
A number of Palestinians were arrested by Israeli forces from inside the compound, according to local residents.
The Palestinian Foreign Minister condemned the attacks and provocations by Israeli settlers at the Al-Aqsa compound.
In a statement, the Palestinian foreign ministry accused the Israeli government of “using Jewish religious holidays and festivals for colonial and occupying purposes.”
The Palestinian Hamas group, which controls the Gaza Strip, condemned the attack by Israeli settlers into the Al-Aqsa compound as a "continuation of Israeli attacks" on the site.
"The Palestinian nation is united in defending Al-Aqsa and in the face of Israeli attacks," Hamas spokesman Mohammad Hamada said in a statement.
Hamada accused the Israeli government of trying to turn the Palestinian-Israeli conflict into a "religious war". There was no statement from the Israeli authorities regarding the report.
For Muslims, Al-Aqsa represents the third holiest site in the world. Jews call the area the Temple Mount, as well as calling it the site of two ancient Jewish temples.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where the Al-Aqsa compound is located, during the Arab-Israeli War in 1967.
Israel then took control of the entire city in 1980, an action never recognized by the international community.