Controversy arose over Netanyahu's call to add the Cave of the Patriarchs, which is viewed by both Jews and Muslims as a sacred site, and Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem to the list of Israeli national heritage. Both sites are located in the West Bank, which the Palestinians claim as part of their future state.

According to local daily The Jerusalem Post, Netanyahu made the last-minute decision in response to pressure from the religious party Shas, an important coalition partner of the prime minister.

The plan is the last hit to the international peace-making efforts to resume Israeli-Palestinian peace process, which have bogged down for over a year.

The Palestinian National Authority on Sunday condemned the inclusion. "This declaration is a further step in violating international laws that consider these sites part of the occupied Palestinian land," said Ghassan al-Khatib, a PNA spokesman. "All these places are located in an occupied Palestinian land so it must be put under the sovereignty of the Palestinian law and it is illegal for the occupation force to control or do any changes on these sites," he said.

Netanyahu's decision was also welcomed by criticisms from within Israel. Haim Oron, chairman of Israeli left-wing political party Meretz, reportedly said that the decision was "another attempt to blur the lines between the State of Israel and the occupied territories."

Israel occupied the West Bank, along with East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, during the 1967 Six Day War. Following 1993 Oslo Accords and the interim agreements afterwards, Israel withdrew its military rule from some parts of the West Bank.

[Xinhua] News Agency February 23, 2010)