Succot at Western Wall. (photo credit:MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
The UNESCO Secretary-General and the US bashed as incitement to violence the draft text of a resolution that seeks to reclassify the Western Wall as a holy Muslim site.
The US warned that the resolution threatened to alter the status quo of holy sites, such as the Temple Mount, where the Western Wall – the most sacred public prayer site in Judaism – is located.
“The United States strongly opposes this resolution and any such use of international fora such as UNESCO to inflame tension in the region and alter the status quo at the holy sites,” Edgar Vasquez, a State Department spokesman, told The Jerusalem Post. “The United States is in close, urgent consultation with UNESCO member states, UNESCO leadership and Israel to discuss this matter.
“One-sided anti-Israel resolutions have been a recurring challenge at UNESCO since 2009,” Vasquez continued, “and in all such circumstances, the United States has blocked consensus on such resolutions by calling for a vote and voting against the texts.”
More here. H/T: ADF