The United Nation’s Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) on Sunday postponed a vote on a draft resolution that would designate Al-Aqsa Mosque as an Islamic-only site, following a failed coup attempt in Turkey, Israel’s Haaretz newspaper reported on Monday.
The Israeli ambassador to UNESCO, Carmel Shama Hacohen, reportedly said that the World Heritage Committee accepted Israel’s request to postpone the debate until October, stating: “It is rare that our opinion wins out against the Palestinians and the Arab states,” he said.
UNESCO postpones vote on draft resolution on Al-Aqsa Mosque https://t.co/4WrY143IWM
— Joe Catron (@jncatron) July 19, 2016
The Committee was scheduled to consider a joint Palestinian-Jordanian resolution on the Old City of Jerusalem during the organisation’s 10-day annual meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, which was scheduled to end on Wednesday.
The committee meeting was cut short on Sunday in the wake of a failed coup attempt.
The UNESCO executive board endorsed a similar decision in April.
(MEMO)
