Israel slams UNESCO vote that calls it ‘occupying power’

WARSAW, Poland — Israel has protested a UNESCO vote that called it the “occupying power” in Jerusalem’s Old City which includes sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims.

Participants in a UNESCO World Heritage Committee’s session in Krakow, Poland, called on “Israel, the occupying power” to stop “persistent excavations, tunneling, works, projects and other illegal practices” in East Jerusalem and especially in the Old City.

They also decided to keep Jerusalem’s Old City and its historic walls on the List of World Heritage in Danger. The Western Wall is a remnant of the biblical temple and the holiest site where Jews can pray.

Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon condemned the vote’s wording as “disgraceful” and stressed that the Old City holds sites “the most sacred” for the Jews.