Ancient site in Palestine gets UNESCO tag amid conflict in Gaza, also put on heritage in danger list

Israel has been carrying out a massive military offensive in Gaza following the unprecedented and multi-pronged attacks on Israeli cities by Hamas militants on October 7.

India in November had urged both the sides to eschew violence, de-escalate the situation and create conditions for an early resumption of direct peace negotiations towards a two-state solution to the Palestine issue.

Friday's inscription has raised hopes about protection of such heritage sites.

The UNESCO in a statement later said that "this decision recognises both the site's value and the need to protect it from danger".

"In view of the threats to this heritage site posed by the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip, the World Heritage Committee used the emergency inscription procedure provided for in the World Heritage Convention," it said.

In accordance with the terms of the Convention, "its 195 States Parties are committed to avoid taking any deliberate measures likely to cause direct or indirect damage to this site, which is now inscribed on the World Heritage List, and to assist in its protection", the world body said.

The UNESCO said inclusion on the List of World Heritage in Danger automatically opens the door to "enhanced international technical and financial assistance mechanisms to guarantee the protection of the property and, if necessary, to help facilitate its rehabilitation".

The monastery of Saint Hilarion/Tell Umm Amer, one of the oldest sites in the Middle East, was founded by Saint Hilarion and was home to the first monastic community in the Holy Land.

Situated at the crossroads of the main routes of trade and exchange between Asia and Africa, it was a centre for religious, cultural and economic exchanges, illustrating the prosperity of desert monastic sites in the Byzantine period, the statement said.

In December 2023, at its 18th session, the UNESCO's Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict had already decided to grant "provisional enhanced protection" to the monastery under the 1954 Hague Convention and its Second Protocol.

The Palestinian delegation which included Mounir Anastas, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Palestine to UNESCO, thanked UNESCO for this dual inscription which seeks to bring a protective cover and world's attention to the heritage site located in areas facing conflicts.

"I am honoured to have this inscription taking place in the greatest democracy in the world. Thank you, India. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all Committee members for their valuable support for this inscription," Anastas said in his statement made in the session right after the inscription.

He also thanked ICOMOS, an advisory body of the UNESCO, and the Secretariat of the UNESCO.

"This decision by the World Heritage Committee and the UNESCO is a clear message of hope to our population in Gaza. This is the most important point of this inscription," Anastas told PTI on the sidelines of the event.

Secondly, it is also a message from the UNESCO that protection of cultural heritage is a "shared responsibility", and mainly the world heritage sites in regions that are suffering of armed conflict, he said.

Various state parties from Lebanon, Turkiye and Kazakhstan welcomed the UNESCO inscription of the heritage site in Palestine, with some of them underlining the need for cultural heritage preservation in times of armed conflicts.

The nomination for the site of Saint Hilarion Monastery/Tell Umm Amer was an "emergency nomination".

Paris-based International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) also made a presentation on this site.

The nomination dossier was submitted in June 2024 followed by a "desk review".

"Situated on the coastal dunes in Nuseirat Municipality, the ruins of Saint Hilarion Monastery/Tell Umm Amer represent one of the earliest monastic sites in the Middle East, dating back to the 4th century," according to the UNESCO website.

"Founded by Saint Hilarion, the monastery began with solitary hermits and evolved into a coenobitic community. It was the first monastic community in the Holy Land, laying the groundwork for the spread of monastic practices in the region. The monastery occupied a strategic position at the crossroads of major trade and communication routes between Asia and Africa," it said.

This prime location facilitated its role as a hub of religious, cultural, and economic interchange, exemplifying the flourishing of monastic desert centres during the Byzantine period, the world body said.