UNESCO added Ancient Jericho in Palestine to the World Heritage List

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee has added the ancient ruins of Tell es-Sultan (Ancient Jericho) in Palestine to the World Heritage List. This decision was made during the 45th session of the committee in Riyadh, it was reported Saudi Press Agency.

It is noted that the majority of members of the organization voted for the inclusion of Tell es-Sultan in the list.

“The site proposed for nomination is the prehistoric archaeological site of Tell es-Sultan, located outside the ancient city of Jericho,” – emphasized UNESCO Deputy Director General for Culture Ernesto Ottone Ramirez.

Tell es-Sultan is located in the Jordan Valley, 1.5 km from modern Jericho. The site is an “oval-shaped mound containing archaeological remains from thousands of years of human activity” and the Ain es-Sultan spring. Permanent settlement in Ancient Jericho, according to UNESCO, arose by the ninth or eighth millennium BC, while some scientists believe that people settled there even earlier.

At the agency WAFA with reference to the Palestinian Foreign Ministry, they noted that the decision of the World Heritage Committee confirms “the unique value of this site and Palestine as a whole.” In Israel, the inclusion of the object was called further evidence of the “cynical use of UNESCO by the Palestinians and the politicization of the organization.”

In January, UNESCO added the historical center of Odessa to the World Heritage List. The Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation stated that this decision was made bypassing the rules of procedure.