Jerusalem
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A new United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) resolution backed by Arab countries and submitted at the behest of the Palestinian Authority declares the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hevron, one of the oldest Jewish holy sites, to be a Muslim Palestinian shrine, utterly devoid of its Jewish connection.

The resolution, which is expected to be voted on in the next two weeks, also includes a clause denying Israeli sovereignty over the Israeli capital of Jerusalem.

Israel’s Mission to the United Nations is scrambling to form a coalition against the resolution and block its passage when the measure comes up for a vote during next month’s World Heritage Committee meeting in Krakow, Poland from July 2nd to the 12th.

Blocking the resolution will require building a 7-state coalition within the 21-member body.

In recent years, UNESCO has become a platform for Arab states and their allies to attack and delegitimize Israel, with a series of resolutions singling out the Jewish state being passed by UNESCO’s steering committee.

In May, UNESCO passed a resolution declaring Israeli laws and administrative measures regarding Jerusalem to be “null and void”.

In 2016, the World Heritage Committee in UNESCO voted in favor of another Arab-backed resolution declaring the Temple Mount a Muslim holy site.

If passed in its present form, the new resolution would give the Tomb of the Patriarchs status as a UN-recognized world heritage site.