Qais Omar Darwesh and Lina Altawell
16 July 2026•Update: 16 July 2026
Palestine’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced Thursday that 12 new sites have been added to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)’s World Heritage Tentative List.
The move raised the total number of Palestinian sites on the Tentative List to 23, the ministry said in a statement.
It said the registrations were made in cooperation with Palestine's permanent delegation to UNESCO to strengthen the international presence of Palestinian heritage and highlight its cultural and natural diversity.
Inclusion on the Tentative List precedes the preparation of nomination files for the World Heritage List and helps strengthen efforts to protect and preserve the sites while expanding international cooperation in heritage conservation and management, the ministry said.
“The step comes amid an Israeli escalation campaign targeting Palestinian heritage sites,” the ministry added.
It reaffirmed its commitment to documenting, protecting and preserving Palestinian cultural heritage for future generations.
Palestinian authorities say archaeological and heritage sites in the occupied West Bank face continued Israeli escalation, including field measures and expanded administrative control over sites of historical value.
The ministry cited several of the newly listed sites, including Sebastia in the northern occupied West Bank, Solomon's Pools south of Bethlehem and the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron.
It said the sites have seen Israeli measures in recent months aimed at isolating them from their Palestinian surroundings and strengthening control over them.
In June, far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced the transfer of planning and construction powers around the Ibrahimi Mosque from Hebron Municipality to the Israeli administration.
The Palestinian Authority says the move violates the 1997 Hebron Agreement, while Smotrich described it as part of strengthening Israeli sovereignty in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli Knesset is also discussing a bill that would grant Israeli authorities broader powers to manage archaeological sites in the occupied West Bank.
Palestinians say Israel is escalating not only measures targeting archaeological sites but also attacks against Palestinians, including killings, arrests, displacement, the demolition of homes and facilities, and the destruction of agricultural land.
They warn that Israel is using such attacks to pave the way for the formal annexation of the West Bank, which would undermine the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state as outlined in relevant UN resolutions.
In 1948, Israel was established on lands occupied by armed Zionist groups that committed massacres and displaced at least 750,000 Palestinians. Israel later occupied the rest of the Palestinian territories and continues to refuse to withdraw from them.
