Tel al Sultan listed by UNESCO. Israel accuses the Palestinians of politicizing the organization.

The archaeological site of Tel al Sultan predates the Egyptian pyramids, lies in the Jordan Valley and contains prehistoric evidence of human activity. The ruins stand near the Palestinian city of Jericho in the southern West Bank, which Israel seized along with other territories in 1967. Palestinians argue that it should be part of the independent state of Palestine with the majority-Arab east of Jerusalem as its capital, which Israel rejects.

The area was added to the UNESCO list after a three-year candidacy, during which no country raised an objection, according to the French news agency AFP, a diplomat who did not want to be named said. “There are no Jewish or Christian remains at the site, it is a site of prehistoric remains,” he added. The decision was taken at the 45th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

In Israel, they are critical of UNESCO’s decision. A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry called Sunday’s decision a sign that the Palestinians “they cynically exploit UNESCO and politicize the organization”. Israel withdrew from UNESCO in 2019 because it believes the organization is biased against the state of Israel. At this session in Riyadh, he was present as an observer.

UNESCO has also included the medieval Jewish town center in Erfurt in the German federal state of Thuringia, where one of the oldest synagogues in Central Europe stands, on the World Heritage List. In addition, two former Persian resting places, caravanserai, on the caravan routes in Iran have been declared World Heritage Sites.

They also listed five Viking round forts in Denmark, namely Aggersborg, Fyrkat, Nonnebakken, Trelleborg and Borgring. It is a type of fort that was built in Scandinavia during the Viking era. The ground plan of the fortifications was circular, and the gates with roads pointed to the four directions of the world. In addition to the forts in Denmark, some of them have also been preserved in Sweden.