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Israel to recall ambassador to UNESCO to protest holy site decision

Xinhua, October 27, 2016 Adjust font size:

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday decided to recall the ambassador to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), protesting the organization's condemnation of Israel's policy in holy sites in East Jerusalem.

The Prime Minister's Office said that Netanyahu will call back the Israeli ambassador to the UNESCO, Carmel Shama, "for consultations."

The decision followed two votes in UNESCO over the past two weeks, both condemned Israel's "escalating aggression" against Muslim worshippers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

The hilltop site is known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif, or "the noble sanctuary," and to Jews as the Temple Mount.

Israel was fumed at the resolution, charging it denies the Jewish link to the site because it referred to the site only by its Muslim name.

Last Friday, Israel suspended all professional ties with UNESCO. "Any Israeli participation will be halted. There will be no meetings with UNESCO officials or participation in international conventions, or any other professional cooperation with the organization," Education Minister Naftali Bennett said in a statement released by his office.

In Ramallah, a Palestinian official welcomed the resolution. The President Spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeinah said in a statement that the vote shows that Israeli activity in Jerusalem "contributes to creating a status of chaos and instability."

The flashpoint site, which Israel occupied from Jordan in the 1967 Middle East War, has been under the joint supervision of Israel and Jordan following a 1994 peace agreement.

The Palestinians seek to declare East Jerusalem, including the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque, as the capital of their state, while Israel insists that an "undivided" Jerusalem is its natural capital.

East Jerusalem has seen a vortex of strife and violence since October 2015, amidst attempts by Israeli right-wing activists to change a long-held status quo that allows Jews to visit the site but not to pray there.

Figures show a year-long violence has claimed the lives of at least 230 Palestinians and 36 Israelis. Endit