"Political weapon": UNESCO declared Beaufort a World Heritage site in danger
The UN committee defined the ancient city in Samaria and the Beaufort fortress as "heritage sites in danger," citing "ongoing conflicts in the Middle East." The Israeli Foreign Ministry criticized the move: "Ignoring clear historical facts and the reality on the ground."
UNESCO has declared the archaeological site of Sebastia and the Beaufort Castle as World Heritage sites in danger. Alongside Beaufort, four other fortresses in southern Lebanon were added to the list.
Back in Beaufort: at an altitude of 700 meters — the IDF returned to the "beautiful fortress" after 26 years.
The decision was made at a meeting of the organization on Friday in South Korea, a few days after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs called for its rejection. The committee justified the decision by citing "ongoing conflicts in the Middle East."
"Using heritage as a weapon"
The decision was made through an emergency procedure, shortly after the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs protested the move, claiming it was "using cultural heritage as a weapon." The committee members decided to include Sebastia, a mountain town located about 10 kilometers northwest of Nablus, in the World Heritage list of sites in danger.
Sebastia is identified by researchers as "ancient Samaria," the capital of the biblical Kingdom of Israel. The archaeological remains at the site span the Iron Age, the Roman, Byzantine, and Islamic periods. According to Christian and Muslim tradition, John the Baptist is buried at the site.
"Hostile campaign"
The request, first submitted in 2012, argued that the status was necessary for the preservation of the site, which remains largely undeveloped under Israeli control. In a statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday, it accused the Palestinian delegation of conducting a "hostile and one-sided campaign" while falsely presenting Sebastia as an area in a state of emergency.
The ministry called the move a political attempt "to erase the deep and well-documented Jewish and Christian history of the site." In addition to Sebastia, the committee declared five fortresses in the Jabal Amel region of southern Lebanon as World Heritage sites in danger, including the Beaufort Castle.
In Jerusalem, officials strongly opposed the inclusion of the Beaufort Castle, arguing that the terrorist organization Hezbollah had turned it into a military stronghold by digging tunnels beneath it and launching rockets from the area. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused UNESCO of completely ignoring these developments.
UNESCO and the Lebanese embassy in South Korea refused to respond to the Israeli claims. A Lebanese representative at the discussion claimed that the fortresses have been used "for cultural and tourism purposes only" since the IDF withdrawal in 2000, and even accused the Israeli media of distributing photos of tourist facilities and presenting them as military facilities.
This decision joins another move by the UNESCO committee from last Wednesday, when the ancient Phoenician city of Tyre in southern Lebanon was also added to the list of World Heritage sites in danger.
