President Abbas welcomes UNESCO’s decision to add fourth-century Gaza monastery to endangered site list

RAMALLAH: President Mahmoud Abbas today welcomed the UNESCO's World Heritage Committee's decision to add Saint Hilarion monastery, to its List of World Heritage in Danger amid the ongoing Israeli genocidal offensive on the Gaza Strip. President Abbas considered the UNESCO's World Heritage Committee's decision to add the monastery, located at the site of Tell Umm Amer in Gaza, to the List of World Heritage in Danger a very important decision given the ongoing Israeli genocidal war on the Strip and evidence to the authenticity and history of the Palestinian people. He thanked not only the Republic of India for hosting the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee in New Delhi, but also the members of the World Heritage Committee and the UNESCO General Secretariat for contributing to adding the site to the List of World Heritage in Danger. He said that this step would undoubtedly contribute to preserving this site of exceptional cultural heritage and affirmed the State of Palestine's unequivocal commitment to safeguarding its national heritage and unwavering support to the efforts aimed at bringing about regional peace and understanding. In December, UNESCO's Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict granted the site "provisional enhanced protection", the highest level of immunity established by the 1954 Hague Convention. Source: Palestine news & Information Agency - WAFA