Israel blocks Unesco visit in protest at Palestinian statements

Israel has blocked a planned visit by Paris-based UN cultural body Unesco to Jerusalem’s Old City in what it termed a protest at Palestinian action. The visit, due to start Monday, was cancelled after the Israeli foreign ministry argued that the Palestinian Authority had attempted to “politicise the event”.

The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem's Old City Reuters/Darren Whiteside/Files

The visit was due to examine areas in Jerusalem’s Old City, a site where archaeological work is considered politically sensitive.

Anonymous Israeli officials told the newspaper Ha’aretz that they resented what they "Palestinian pressure" on the Unesco delegation to visit the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, arguing that this was contrary to the initial agreement in April that permitted the visit, the first of its kind since 2004.

The officials also argued that the Palestinian Authority had arranged meetings with government ministers rather than experts and diplomats, something they viewed as an act of politicisation.

This follows statements by the Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki last Thursday, who labelled the visit one of “inquiry” regarding what some in the Middle East term the “judaisation of Jerusalem”.

Israeli foreign ministry officials told reporters that the mission had been cancelled, while Unesco officials said it had simply been postponed.