The UNESCO World Heritage Committee, during its 48th session, decided to retain the Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls on the List of World Heritage in Danger.
اضافة اعلان
According to UNESCO, keeping the site on the list indicates that the conditions required for its conservation which would allow its removal from the danger list have not yet been met.
The decision also reflects the need to strengthen conservation efforts, international cooperation, and close monitoring of the site.
In comments to Al Mamlaka TV, UNESCO said that the World Heritage Committee places a site on the List of World Heritage in Danger when it determines that the property faces serious threats that could affect the characteristics for which it was inscribed on the World Heritage List, including those that convey its Outstanding Universal Value.
Jordan Welcomes the Decision
Jordan welcomed the committee's unanimous decision, adopted during its 48th session in Busan, South Korea, to maintain the Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls on the List of World Heritage in Danger, citing what Jordan described as Israeli measures threatening the cultural heritage of the Old City and altering the status quo there.
UNESCO explained that the purpose of the danger list is to:
Alert the international community to threats facing World Heritage sites.
Encourage corrective measures.
Mobilize and strengthen international support for conservation.
Facilitate access, where appropriate, to assistance from the World Heritage Fund.
The organization stressed that inclusion on the list should not be viewed as a punishment but rather as a mechanism for responding effectively to conservation challenges and supporting corrective action.
The Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls were inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1981 in recognition of their outstanding universal value and exceptional symbolic importance. In 1982, the World Heritage Committee added the site to the List of World Heritage in Danger.
Al-Kilani: The Decision Remains Significant Despite Its Repetition
Wasfi Al-Kilani, Executive Director of the Hashemite Fund for the Restoration of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, told Al Mamlaka that the current wording of the decision, which has remained largely unchanged since 2017, is repeatedly adopted by consensus without reopening the text to include new provisions condemning what he described as ongoing Israeli violations.
He said the decision has entered a state resembling "freezing" or "recycling," which he attributed to pressure from Israel and the United States. Nevertheless, he argued that the decision remains important because it is based on Jordan's nomination of the Old City and its Walls to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1981 and their inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 1982.
UNESCO Conservation Efforts
UNESCO said it has carried out several initiatives to support the preservation of the site since its inscription on the danger list.
Among these efforts:
In 2007, UNESCO's World Heritage Centre prepared an action plan for conserving the cultural heritage of Jerusalem's Old City, comprising 18 projects. Only one received funding: the conservation of the Church of Saint John Prodromos, financed by the A. G. Leventis Foundation in 2009.
Under a 2011 agreement with the Norwegian government, UNESCO supported capacity-building for staff at the Islamic Manuscripts Restoration Centre at Al-Haram Al-Sharif in manuscript conservation.
Through the project "Protection, Rehabilitation and Revitalization of the Islamic Museum at Al-Haram Al-Sharif and Its Collections," funded by Saudi Arabia, the Jerusalem Awqaf Department, and the Welfare Association (Taawon), the museum building was restored and equipped, while staff received training in cataloguing, conservation, restoration, photography, English, and information technology.
Concerns Raised by Experts
Al-Kilani said the threats that prompted the 1982 decision continue today in new forms, citing archaeological excavations in the Old City, particularly around the Western Wall Tunnel, the Umayyad Palaces near the southern wall of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and changes affecting the Sharaf Quarter, which he said was largely replaced by what is now known as the Jewish Quarter.
He also said Jordan, backed by Arab and Islamic countries, requested the UNESCO action after the Israeli Knesset's 1980 declaration designating East Jerusalem as part of Israel's "eternal and undivided capital."
Al-Kilani further referred to violent incidents in the early 1980s, including alleged plots targeting the Dome of the Rock and attacks at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Warnings About Changes to Jerusalem's Character
Jerusalem affairs researcher Jamal Amro told Al Mamlaka that the risks facing Jerusalem persist despite numerous international resolutions concerning the city, arguing that these resolutions have not been effectively implemented.
He referred to UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, UN General Assembly Resolution 181, and Resolution 194, saying that threats to Jerusalem continue.
Amro alleged that ongoing archaeological excavations, changes to Islamic cemeteries, property seizures in the Muslim Quarter, and urban development projects have altered the city's historical landscape.
He also expressed concern about infrastructure projects, including a planned cable car system and excavation works in the Silwan area, arguing that they could affect the city's historic character.
He further claimed that cultural changes, including the use of different names for religious and historical sites, as well as increased security measures around the Old City, have altered Jerusalem's cultural and social environment.
Amro described Jerusalem as a city of universal historical and religious significance and called for stronger Arab and international efforts to support the Jordanian Hashemite Custodianship over the holy sites and to preserve the city's heritage.
Additional Reactions
Amer Al-Hafi, Academic Adviser at the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies, said the UNESCO decision demonstrates that Arab countries and friendly states can still play a role in protecting Jerusalem's Islamic and Christian heritage.
Marouf Al-Rifai, adviser to the Governor of Jerusalem, welcomed the decision, saying it reaffirmed the city's historical, cultural, and humanitarian significance while recognizing the continued risks facing its heritage.
He said the decision should serve as a starting point for more effective international action beyond declarations and recommendations, calling for practical measures to preserve Jerusalem's character and ensure respect for international law and relevant United Nations resolutions.
