UNESCO ADDS WEST BANK AND LEBANON SITES TO ENDANGERED HERITAGE LIST

UNESCO has inscribed six sites in the occupied West Bank and Lebanon on both its World Heritage List and its List of World Heritage in Danger, following a committee vote in Busan, South Korea. The inscriptions were made under emergency procedures citing ongoing regional conflicts. The West Bank site of Sebastia, an archaeological area near Nablus identified by historians as ancient Samaria, was added despite objections from Israel's foreign ministry, which had urged the committee to reject the nominations.

Sebastia's ruins span the Iron Age through Roman, Byzantine and Islamic periods. Christian and Islamic tradition holds that John the Baptist is buried at the site. Palestinian officials first sought the listing in 2012, arguing the site required protection as Israeli authorities advanced plans to expropriate approximately 200 hectares of surrounding land for a national park, which would include fencing, entry fees and a road restricted to Israeli use. Five castles in Lebanon's Mount Amel region were also inscribed, including Beaufort Castle, a medieval fortress captured by Israeli forces in May during conflict with Hezbollah. The castles date from the medieval period to the 19th century and reflect successive occupation by Crusader, Ayyubid, Mamluk, Ottoman and local feudal rulers.

UNESCO member states approved all six inscriptions despite Israel's campaign to have them rejected. The emergency procedure allowed the sites to be placed on both the main World Heritage List and the endangered list simultaneously, rather than following standard nomination processes.