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Source: https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-904753
UNESCO Joins Palestinians in Rewriting Jewish History in Judea and Samaria
(Jerusalem Post) David M. Weinberg - Judea and Samaria, the biblical heartland, are rich with Jewish national heritage sites. Since the start of the Oslo process, the Palestinian Authority has acted to destroy archaeological sites in Judea and Samaria - purposefully plundering Jewish antiquities, razing historical Jewish sites, and working in international institutions to erase the Jewish/Israeli identity of such places. In 2026, the PA submitted a long list of undeniably Jewish historical sites to the World Heritage List at UNESCO, rebranding the sites as "Palestinian" or "Islamic" heritage locations while expunging any Jewish association with them. UNESCO essentially has become a willing partner in a campaign of systematic Jewish identity erasure, amounting to cultural genocide. According to UNESCO, the Temple Mount in Jerusalem is not really the Temple Mount. In 2018, UNESCO passed a series of resolutions (proposed by PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas) declaring Jerusalem an exclusively Muslim heritage city and criminalizing Israel's custodianship of the city. At Palestinian urging, UNESCO also declared the Cave of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs in Hebron as "State of Palestine" heritage sites. In July, at the behest of the PA, UNESCO declared Sebastia - the capital of the biblical kingdom of Israel - as a Palestinian-associated World Heritage site. Now, UNESCO is considering the declaration of 22 additional properties in Judea and Samaria as Palestinian cultural assets including Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found; Herodian National Park, the fortress built by King Herod; and Solomon's Pools and the aqueducts leading to King Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem. All these sites are in Israeli-controlled territory, and none bear a historical or cultural connection under any plausible claim to "Palestinian heritage." The writer is managing senior fellow at the Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy.