From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
UNESCO head seeks to postpone Western Wall vote
UNESCO Secretary General Irina Bokova asks the UN agency’s organizing committee to postpone a vote on a Palestinian resolution calling for recognition of the Western Wall as a holy place for Islam.
The move comes as Bokova fears that voting on the initiative may inflame the Middle East to an even worse degree than currently. Voting on the proposal “could be seen to alter the status of the Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls” and incite further tensions, she says.
A report in the Hebrew-language paper Maariv said Bokova made the request after meeting Israel’s envoy to the agency, Carmel Shama Hacohen.
Bokova, according to the report, then met the Palestinian envoy to the agency and asked him to soften the wording of the resolution’s text. After the Palestinians refused, she asked the agency to postpone the vote. It was initially scheduled to take place today.
Every member of UNESCO carries the responsibility “to take decisions that do not further inflame tensions on the ground and that encourage respect for the sanctity of the Holy Sites,” she said.
Shama Hacohen tells Maariv: “The Palestinians have made the text of the resolution worse compared to previous [proposed resolutions at UNESCO] and now also want ownership of the Western Wall. This raises objection from countries even among those that do not support us. Among European countries, all countries but one said that if the Palestinians don’t soften the text of the resolution they will oppose it. We are continuing our diplomatic efforts to the last minute.”
The Times of Israel Community.