Israel Condemns UNESCO's Sebastia Listing as an Attempt to Rewrite History

Israel condemned UNESCO's decision to inscribe Sebastia, ancient Samaria, as an endangered Palestinian World Heritage Site. Ambassador Nina Ben-Ami, the Foreign Ministry's deputy director general for UN and international organizations, said Palestinian membership in UNESCO has no legal effect under international law and Israel does not recognize its nominations. She accused the Palestinian delegation of trying to rewrite Jewish history and said no committee could erase Israel's ancient roots in its ancestral homeland. UNESCO's committee placed the 79-hectare archaeological site, northwest of Nablus and once capital of the biblical Kingdom of Israel, on both the World Heritage List and the danger list.