The United Arab Emirates, which currently heads the UNESCO Jerusalem Committee, has successfully collaborated with other Arab countries to secure a decision by the world preservation body to protect and restore the old city of occupied Jerusalem, according to the local Arabic daily Al Ittihad.
The international organization's general conference, supported by representatives from European, Asian, African and Latin American countries, has decided to form a committee to study the size of the restoration budget and means of securing it through allocations and donations from all over the globe, particularly from the Arab World.
UAE Minister of Education Ali Abdel Aziz Al Sharhan, who represented his country at the conference, said, “What has been achieved is an international breakthrough, because it will protect the human heritage that is at risk in Jerusalem.
“The old city is exposed to devastation under the brutal Israeli occupation policies and settlement expansion, excavations and blockades on materials necessary for restoring buildings.”
Meanwhile, the UAE has been elected, for the first time in the history of the international organization, as one of the 32 conference deputy presidents, out of 188 UNESCO members – Albawaba.com
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