New Delhi: An ancient Christian monastery in Gaza was recognized as a World Heritage Site in the endangered site during a UNESCO session in New Delhi on Friday.
Founded in about 340 by Saint Hilarion, the monastery is part of Tell Umm Amer, an archaeological site located in the Nuseraat refugee camp in Deir al-Balah Governorate of Gaza.
Submitted for inscription by the Permanent Delegation of Palestine to UNESCO in 2012, its nomination was processed on an emergency basis during the ongoing annual session of the World Heritage Committee.
Ambassador Monir Anastas, Palestine's Permanent Representative to the UN Cultural Agency, welcomed the inscription as a hope for the people of Gaza amid ongoing Israeli attacks that have killed at least 40,000 people and destroyed most of the Palestinian enclave's infrastructure since October. .
“It gives a message of hope to our people in Gaza who are fleeing the bombardment, who have no shelter, no water, no food. However, they are committed to protecting their heritage because this heritage is part of our people's memory and history,” Anastas told Arab News on the sidelines of the UNESCO session. said
The move was introduced by Belgium and sponsored by 18 other members of the World Heritage Committee, who resorted to the emergency procedure provided for in the World Heritage Convention and agreed to inscribe the Saint Hilarion Monastery complex as both a World Heritage Site and a World Heritage Site in Danger. Lists.
Under the terms of the convention, its 195 state parties, including Israel, are prohibited from directly or indirectly damaging the site and commit to providing their assistance for its preservation.
“Once the site is included in the World Heritage List in Danger, it means that all States Parties to the Convention are responsible for protecting and promoting the site,” Mounir said.
“And this is also another strong message from the international community to our people in Gaza, the international community has not forgotten you.”
St. Hilarion was a native of the Gaza Strip and is considered the father of Palestinian monasticism. His monastery was an important station at the crossroads between Egypt, Palestine, Syria and Mesopotamia, and is associated with the phenomenon of monastic desert centers in the Byzantine period. It also gives evidence of Christianity in Gaza.
One of the oldest monasteries in the Middle East, the complex consists of two churches, a cemetery, a baptistery, a public cemetery, an audience hall and dining rooms.
At least 207 archaeological sites and buildings of cultural and historical importance have been reduced to rubble or severely damaged by Israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip in the past 10 months, out of a total of 320.
These include the Orthodox Church of St. Porphyrios—the third oldest church in the world—the 12th-century Great Omari Mosque and the nearby al-Kisriya medieval old city market, Gaza's old port dating to 800 BC and a Philistine cemetery dating to the Late Bronze Age. -1200 BC
The destruction of many archaeological sites was detailed in the case of South Africa against Israel for the crime of genocide before the International Court of Justice. of justice. The case argues that the mass killings and destruction of cultural heritage in Gaza demonstrate the Israeli leadership's intent to destroy the Palestinian people and their cultural identity.
