LATimes: Palestinians hail World Heritage listing of Bethlehem holy sites

RAMALLAH, West Bank -- A United Nations panel voted Friday to include holy sites in the biblical city of Bethlehem  on the World Heritage list, to the applause of Palestinian officials and the anger of their Israeli counterparts

A committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) voted 13 to 6 with two abstentions to include the ancient Church of the Nativity, the reputed birthplace of Jesus Christ, along with the city's Pilgrimage Route on the World Heritage list of endangered sites. The panel met in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Palestinians saw the World Heritage Committee's decision as international recognition of their jurisdiction over Bethlehem and its holy sites, in addition to making the church eligible for UNESCO funding for badly needed repairs and renovations.

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad quickly praised the vote as "a victory for righteousness, justice and humanitarian principles."...READ MORE

[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2012/06/bethlehem-world-heritage-site-palestinians-israel.html