BETHLEHEM, February 13, 2025 (WAFA) – The Tourism and Archaeology Ministry Thursday condemned an international conference held in the occupied city of Jerusalem.
The Ministry decried the “Archaeology and Site Conservation of Judea and Samaria” international conference, held during the period from February 10 to 13, along with the participation of some international archaeologists.
It called the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) and Aran and regional organizations join the wave of condemnations of the conference for violating international law and being held within the content of the Israeli genocidal war on the Palestinian people and the Israeli schemes to annex the occupied territories.
Meanwhile, the Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF) issued a statement voicing their dismay over the conference.
“The PEF is dismayed to learn of an international archaeological conference where the participants will discuss various aspects of the archaeology of ‘Judea and Samaria’. This title neglects and erases the geographical identity of that region, the West Bank of the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The conference does not feature any speakers from Palestinian institutions nor are any Palestinian-led projects represented within the conference proceedings,” the PIF Trustees said.
“The current projects listed within the conference present research and data from archaeological projects which are in breach of international laws governing the excavation of archaeological sites in occupied territory, and the responsibilities of the occupying power. This includes the Hague Convention and Protocols of 1954 and the New Delhi Recommendations of 1956,” they added.
They slammed the conference as a form of normalization with Israel, the occupying power.
“Given the concerning news of increased, often violent settler activity in the area, and the intention to expand the Israel Antiquities Authority’s jurisdiction to include the West Bank, this conference normalises academic activities which are in breach of international law.”
They called on academics and cultural heritage professionals to “uphold the highest ethical standards in our professional practices and one way to achieve this is by not participating in conferences, such as this one, which represents a further step towards the disenfranchisement of the Palestinian people from their cultural heritage.”
K.F.
