Rabat (IINA) : The Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) welcomed the vote on Tuesday by a majority of the member states of the UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee backing a Jordanian-Palestinian draft resolution on the “Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls”.

The draft resolution was submitted by the Arab Group to the 41st session of the World Heritage Committee currently being held in Krakow, Poland.

On Tuesday, UNESCO’s Executive Board adopted the resolution with 10 member states voting in favor, three against, and eight abstaining.

The resolution denied Israel’s sovereignty over Jerusalem and condemned the archeological excavations carried out by the Israel Antiquities Authority in the occupied city.

The measure considered that any change caused by Israel, the occupying power, in and around the Old City of Jerusalem as illegal. It further stated that the legislative and administrative measures and actions taken by the Israeli Knesset, which have altered – or purport to alter – the character and status of the holy city of Jerusalem, as the capital of Israel are null and void and must be rescinded forthwith.

ISESCO called upon UNESCO to continue its support for the inalienable rights of the Palestinians in its resolutions, in commitment to international legitimacy and UN resolutions.

It also called upon member states to step up their efforts and coordinate initiatives to implement the UNESCO resolutions and recommendations on Jerusalem, mobilize greater support for the Palestinian cause in international forums and defend the right of the Palestinian people to live in their independent homeland in freedom and dignity.