UNESCO inscribes Jericho on the World Heritage List

The World Heritage Committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has announced the addition of the Palestinian site ‘Tel Sultan-Jericho’ to the World Heritage List, making it the first Arab site to be added to UNESCO’s list in the 45th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The Permanent Delegate of Palestine to UNESCO, Munir Anastas, expressed his pride in this historical success, which “credited all Arabs, especially Saudi Arabia, which made every effort to host the session and spared no effort to support the Palestinian cause in all international platforms,” according to the Saudi Press Agency.

Dr Ahmed Rajoub, the Director-General of World Heritage in Palestine, explained that Jericho is an example of the world’s oldest and first sociopolitical administrative system.

It is not only the oldest walled city but also the lowest ancient walled city in the world.

It has the oldest political, social, economic, and religious system, proving its role in developing human civilisation.

Dr Rajoub noted that this cultural victory has other economic and social dimensions.

Palestine lacks resources, but it is rich in its cultural, religious, and natural heritage.

Listing Jericho as a World Heritage Site will bring economic benefits through increased tourism, improve the livelihood of the local community, and positively impact the Palestinian economy.

Since the early stages of the committee’s meeting in Riyadh, Arabs and Palestinians have been awaiting the decision of UNESCO regarding recognising Jericho as a World Heritage site in the meeting held between September 10 and 25, 2023, amidst opposition from the Israeli side.

Palestine claims that its archaeologists confirm that Tel Sultan is the oldest fortified city in the world. This site tells the story of human history through remains dating back to the Neolithic period and continuing until the Byzantine era.

It features a massive circular tower and protective walls.

The site has been excavated for over a century. It has revealed remains of a fortified city claiming to be the oldest inhabited city on this planet, which encouraged the international organization to classify it on the World Heritage list.

The Palestinian Delegate to UNESCO emphasised that ancient Jericho will be the fifth Palestinian site on the World Heritage list, noting that three of these sites are on the List of World Heritage in Danger and two are on the regular list.

He noted that the oldest City of Jerusalem was the most crucial site among these, from the perspective of historical significance to Abrahamic religions.

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