Ancient ruins near Jericho are fueling conflict. Here’s why
The ancient city of Jericho is one of the world’s oldest continuously occupied areas. Nearby ruins originated in the ninth millennium BCE, according to CNN.
Why, then, is it controversial for these ruins to be designated as a World Heritage Site, as they were on Sunday? The answer lies in a much more modern bit of history.
Conflict over Jericho
Jericho, like other cities on the West Bank, is caught in the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Palestinian and Israeli leaders — and their separate camps of supporters around the world — do not agree on who has the rightful claim to the area.
“Israel captured the West Bank, along with Gaza and east Jerusalem, in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want all three territories for their future state. Israel views the West Bank as the biblical and cultural heartland of the Jewish people,” NBC News reported.
Both camps have used ancient sites, including religiously significant ones, to strengthen their case for control.
“Historical heritage has long been among the many flashpoints in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with both sides using archaeology and conservation to demonstrate what they say is their own unique connection to the Holy Land,” NBC News reported.
UNESCO World Heritage designation
UNESCO attempted to sidestep ongoing conflict by drawing a distinction between the city of Jericho, which has significant ties to both Israel and Palestine, and the ruins at Tell es-Sultan, an area outside of Jericho containing the ruins of “one of humanity’s first-known villages,” NBC News reported. The new historic designation is focused on Tell es-Sultan.
But it didn’t work. In the hours after Tell es-Sultan’s designation, Israel accused Palestinian leaders of co-opting the UNESCO World Heritage Site designation system to score points in the larger territorial battle.
“In a statement carried by Israeli media, the Foreign Ministry said (Sunday’s) decision was ‘another sign of the Palestinians’ cynical use of UNESCO’ and their ‘politicization of the organization,’” The Washington Post reported.
Meanwhile, Palestinian leaders applauded UNESCO’s decision.
“The Palestinian Authority Foreign Affairs Ministry welcomed the decision, lauding it as an acknowledgment of Jericho’s ‘cultural, economic, and political significance’ and a testament to ‘10,000 years of human development,’” CNN reported.
As The Washington Post noted in its coverage, UNESCO has often faced criticism for its handling of historic sites on contested lands.
“The selection process has come under fire in other places such as Syria and Kashmir,” the article said.
Israel quit UNESCO in 2019 due to its frustration with how the organization described a shrine that has significance to Jews, Christians and Muslims, but it has “remained a party to the World Heritage Convention,” The Washington Post reported.
