Palestinian propaganda at UNESCO conference: Israel engages in "manipulation of the city's [Jerusalem's] Arab and Islamic character"
“For the first time, the State of Palestine is attending the opening of the 37th session of the UNESCO General Conference as a full Member State…
On this matter, Secretary-General of the [Palestinian] National Commission for Education, Culture and Science, Ismail Tellawi said that… one of the most important matters to be discussed by the committees branching out from this conference is the recent escalation in the city of Jerusalem, which is expressed by the ongoing excavations in the area of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, house demolitions, expulsion [of residents], distortion and falsification of facts, invasions of the Al-Aqsa Mosque’s plazas by settlers and manipulation of the city’s Arab and Islamic character and identity in the fields of religion, culture and history, and specifically, by the Israeli occupation authorities’ refusal to receive the UNESCO monitoring mission that was supposed to visit the Palestinian territories and Jerusalem on Feb. 20 this year [2013]…
Tellawi added that the conference will discuss the Israeli occupation authorities’ incessant attempts to include the Ibrahimi Mosque (i.e., Cave of the Patriarchs), the Bilal Ibn Rabah Mosque (i.e., Rachel's Tomb) and the Cave of the Patriarchs (sic) among Jewish heritage [sites]. He noted that the draft resolutions emphasize that the three Palestinian sites are an inseparable part of the occupied Palestinian territories.”
Note: The PA considers any presence of Jews on the Temple Mount an "invasion." However, all visitors are subject to rigorous checks by Israeli security personnel before being granted access to the Temple Mount.
On this matter, Secretary-General of the [Palestinian] National Commission for Education, Culture and Science, Ismail Tellawi said that… one of the most important matters to be discussed by the committees branching out from this conference is the recent escalation in the city of Jerusalem, which is expressed by the ongoing excavations in the area of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, house demolitions, expulsion [of residents], distortion and falsification of facts, invasions of the Al-Aqsa Mosque’s plazas by settlers and manipulation of the city’s Arab and Islamic character and identity in the fields of religion, culture and history, and specifically, by the Israeli occupation authorities’ refusal to receive the UNESCO monitoring mission that was supposed to visit the Palestinian territories and Jerusalem on Feb. 20 this year [2013]…
Tellawi added that the conference will discuss the Israeli occupation authorities’ incessant attempts to include the Ibrahimi Mosque (i.e., Cave of the Patriarchs), the Bilal Ibn Rabah Mosque (i.e., Rachel's Tomb) and the Cave of the Patriarchs (sic) among Jewish heritage [sites]. He noted that the draft resolutions emphasize that the three Palestinian sites are an inseparable part of the occupied Palestinian territories.”
Note: The PA considers any presence of Jews on the Temple Mount an "invasion." However, all visitors are subject to rigorous checks by Israeli security personnel before being granted access to the Temple Mount.