Arab experts on Wednesday took the first steps towards taking international legal action against Israel for ongoing excavations near the old city of Jerusalem.And we all know how unbiased UNESCO is, don't we?
Arab archaeologists, conservationists and heritage experts met in Amman yesterday to gather what they claim are documented impacts of ongoing Israeli projects altering the identity of the Holy City.
The two-day gathering of the committee of experts, held under the auspices of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (ISESCO) at the Department of Antiquities (DoA), aims to take Israel to task for violations ranging from changing historical street names to excavations underneath Al Aqsa Mosque.
Once the documentation is complete, the committee will draft a report and issue recommendations for a case to be brought before the International Court of Justice, according to DoA Director Ziad Saad.
"We aim to gather sound scientific evidence for politicians to take up the case at the international level," he told The Jordan Times on the sidelines of the meeting, which was opened by Minister of Tourism Haifa Abu Ghazaleh.
Moawiyah Ibrahim, Jordan's representative to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, said the move comes amidst concerns that Israeli authorities are abusing archaeology for political ends.
"Israel has used Biblical texts to support their national narrative and have disregarded Arab-Islamic heritage," he said.
Does anyone think that the 'international community' will stand up and call the 'Palestinians' on their denial of history by claiming that the Jewish Temples never existed? I'm still waiting to hear the Pope stand up and say that the Jewish Temples existed because Jesus was in the Second Temple.
