Palestine lauds UNESCO decision for listing St. Hilarion as endangered
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The Palestinian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities calls the Monastery an essential component of the remarkable Palestinian heritage.
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In this July 14, 2019 photo, Palestinians work on a 4th-century AD St. Hilarion Monastery archaeological site in central Gaza Strip. (AP)
After the Saint Hilarion complex, a 4th-century monastery located in Gaza, has been placed on UNESCO's endangered sites list due to "Israel's" ongoing genocidal war on the Strip, Palestine's Minister of Tourism responds.
Palestine's Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Hani al-Hayek released a statement published by his office, saying, “This achievement was made during the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO, held in New Delhi, India."
Al-Hayek applauded UNESCO for listing the site in an emergency situation and called it an essential component of the remarkable Palestinian heritage of great human value.
“This action is part of the Palestinian leadership's efforts to preserve Gaza's cultural heritage amid the brutal war and genocide faced by our people,” he expressed.
Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas praised the UN committee's decision, describing it as a “very important decision given the ongoing Israeli genocidal war on the Strip and evidence to the authenticity and history of the Palestinian people.”
Cited by Palestine’s official news agency WAFA, Abbas said, “The State of Palestine will continue to protect this unique site for humanity as a whole.”
St. Hilarion Monastery, dating back to the Byzantine era, is one of the largest and oldest monasteries in Palestine and the Middle East.
The Gaza Media Office revealed that "Israel" has so far erased almost 206 archaeological and heritage sites since the beginning of the war on Gaza.
"It's the only recourse to protect the site from destruction in the current context," UNESCO World Heritage Center Director Lazare Eloundou Assomo said to AFP yesterday, referring to the Israeli occupation's nine-month war on Gaza.
The monastery was granted "provisional enhanced protection," the highest level of security permitted by the 1954 Hague Convention, in December by the Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.
Hamas requested UNESCO on December 8, 2023, to conserve historic structures in Gaza, detailing how Israeli strikes have destroyed Palestine's oldest church, last hammam baths, and numerous ancient mosques.
According to reports by an NGO, the bombing of the Gaza Strip has not only targeted thousands of Palestinians but also demolished a number of historical architecture and heritage sites.
Hamas' Antiquities Ministry condemned the "ransacking of historical and archaeological sites" by Israeli occupation forces (IOF) since the aggression on Gaza started on October 7.
