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UN Votes to List Ruins near Ancient Jericho as Palestinian World Heritage Site
(AP-Washington Post) The UN World Heritage Committee, meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, under the auspices of UNESCO, voted Sunday to list prehistoric ruins near the ancient West Bank city of Jericho as a World Heritage Site in Palestine. Tell es-Sultan, a Bronze-Age town dating back to 2600 BCE, is 2 km. from the remains of the first city of Jericho, which contains ruins of importance to Jewish history, including a synagogue dating back to the first century BCE. UNESCO's assistant director general, Ernesto Ottone, took pains to clarify that the two sites are distinct. "The property proposed for nomination is the prehistoric archaeological site of Tell es-Sultan located outside the antique site of Jericho. Later historical developments, which span over millennia and are demonstrated by material remains beyond the boundaries of Tell as-Sultan, constitute a rich cultural context, worthy of historical interest and preservation, covering among others, Jewish and Christian heritage. However, this is not the focus of the proposed nomination."