UNESCO declares Hebron shrine Palestinian, Israel pulls U.N. funding
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[img]http://i.imgur.com/QorApKd.jpg[/img]
[QUOTE]The U.N. cultural organization declared an ancient shrine in the occupied West Bank a Palestinian heritage site on Friday, prompting Israel to further cut its funding to the United Nations.
UNESCO designated Hebron and the two adjoined shrines at its heart - the Jewish Tomb of the Patriarchs and the Muslim Ibrahimi Mosque - a "Palestinian World Heritage Site in Danger".
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called that "another delusional UNESCO decision" and ordered that $1 million be diverted from Israel's U.N. funding to establish a museum and other projects covering Jewish heritage in Hebron.
The funding cut is Israel's fourth in the past year, taking its U.N. contribution from $11 million to just $1.7 million, an Israeli official said. Each cut has come after various U.N. bodies voted to adopt decisions which Israel said discriminated against it.
Palestinian Foreign Minister, Reyad Al-Maliki, said the UNESCO vote, at a meeting in Krakow, Poland, was proof of the "successful diplomatic battle Palestine has launched on all fronts in the face of Israeli and American pressure on (UNESCO) member countries."
Hebron is the largest Palestinian city in the occupied West Bank with a population of some 200,000. About 1,000 Israeli settlers live in the heart of the city and for years it has been a place of religious friction between Muslims and Jews.[/QUOTE]
[URL="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-palestinians-hebron-idUSKBN19S1VR"]Source[/URL].
Really fucking stupid thing to do considering the history of Hebron. Just don't assign a nation to it and establish that it's holy to both Judaism and Islam, end of story.
[QUOTE=Svinnik;52448058]Really fucking stupid thing to do considering the history of Hebron. Just don't assign a nation to it and establish that it's holy to both Judaism and Islam, end of story.[/QUOTE]
its in the middle of a palistinian city, if it belonged to israel it would give them justification to control a portion of the area as well as potentially send in more settlers
[QUOTE=Sableye;52448113]its in the middle of a palistinian city, if it belonged to israel it would give them justification to control a portion of the area as well as potentially send in more settlers[/QUOTE]
Israel already controls 3 percent of Hebron and the area of the shrines.
Just saying yeah we're not going to take sides on politics but these sites are holy to different religions would been better on the part of the UN
[QUOTE=Svinnik;52448242]Israel already controls 3 percent of Hebron and the area of the shrines.
Just saying yeah we're not going to take sides on politics but these sites are holy to different religions would been better on the part of the UN[/QUOTE]
The fact that Israel controls that area [i]is what makes it a danger[/i] to the Palestinian heritage of it.
"We're not going to take sides on politics," Svinnik says, taking sides on Israeli-Palestinian politics as usual.
[QUOTE=Snowmew;52448317]The fact that Israel controls that area [i]is what makes it a danger[/i] to the Palestinian heritage of it.
"We're not going to take sides on politics," Svinnik says, taking sides on Israeli-Palestinian politics as usual.[/QUOTE]
If we're talking about heritage, talk about how Hebron is the second holiest city in Judaism, was the former capital of the Kingdom of Israel, and has had a continuous Jewish presence throughout history excluding a brief time when the Crusaders sacked it.
Israeli control of that area allows worshippers of all faiths to visit. Under Islamic rule, only Muslims were allowed to visit those shrines.
Like everything in the region, it's super complex and I think that it's easier for the UN to just say the ownership is disputed but it's important to Jews and Muslims.
Saying it's the cultural heritage of one group and not the other just inflames tensions and denies that both sides have a long cultural connection to the area.
The declaration does not declare it the cultural heritage of any particular group. It's a Palestinian site because the site is located in Palestine and Palestinians pushed for its recognition.
Its not declared a uniquely "Palestine" thing, nor does the declaration deny the role Jews played in it.
[QUOTE=Sableye;52448113]its in the middle of a palistinian city, if it belonged to israel it would give them justification to control a portion of the area as well as potentially send in more settlers[/QUOTE]
Why would Israel need justification? What has ever prevented them before on such things?
I don't really understand how people can defend Israel in situations like this
[QUOTE=Flyingman356;52453095]I don't really understand how people can defend Israel in situations like this[/QUOTE]
Palestine isn't a country. Israel can rule their land as they see fit.
[QUOTE=Komodoh;52453362]Palestine isn't a country. Israel can rule their land as they see fit.[/QUOTE]
Hebron isn't a part of the state of Israel. Even by Israeli law Hebron isn't legally a part of Israel. It is merely military occupied and governed by Israel.
The Hebron shrine is however one of the most important sites to Judaism but like the Temple Mount isn't recognized as such by neither the Palestinians nor by UNESCO.
[QUOTE=Trebgarta;52455107]Maybe Israel should try acting like Palestine isn't a country and all that land is Israel. I wonder how good they would be erasing Oslo Accords from history.[/QUOTE]
shhhh
You'll awake them
[QUOTE=Komodoh;52453362]Palestine isn't a country. Israel can rule their land as they see fit.[/QUOTE]
I'm not sure why that means anything.
[QUOTE=Komodoh;52453362]Palestine isn't a country. Israel can rule their land as they see fit.[/QUOTE]
Most of the world recognises Palestine as a country, the West doesn't because America says no. Even if you don't think Palestine is a country it is still a state with territory of its own. It isn't Israel's land.
Besides which, the justification for it belonging to Israel is flimsy as fuck. It's an important site for Judaism, fine, but The Vatican doesn't hold sovereignty over every Christian site.
I'm not massively pro-Palestine, I wish they'd get a reasonable government so they and the Israelis can start to reconcile, but seeing people act as though they're just an inconvenience who should be dismissed really ticks me off.
Rogue state.
[QUOTE=Komodoh;52453362]Palestine isn't a country. Israel can rule their land as they see fit.[/QUOTE]
The UN acknowledges Palestine as a country. Nothing you people say about it will change that.
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