Israel - Jerusalem

The extension of the inscribed site will accord with the changes in the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention whereby sites may include buffer zones providing the visual and historic context for ongoing site management and conservation. In addition, it is proposed that the site be extended to include Mount Zion as well as those sites that bear a unique testimony to the cultural traditions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. This will help guarantee the conservation of the site from encroaching urbanism and help to eliminate the factors which may endanger those sites. *: This concerns the property entitled “Jerusalem - the Old City and Ramparts to include Mount Zion” proposed by Israel as an extension to the “Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls” inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1981, upon proposal by Jordan. The Committee at its 25th Session (Helsinki, 2001) endorsed the recommendation of the 25th session of its Bureau (Paris, June 2001) “to postpone further consideration of this nomination proposal until an agreement on the status of the City of Jerusalem in conformity with International Law is reached, or until the parties concerned submit a joint nomination”. It should be noted that, the UNESCO General Conference in its Resolutions 32C/39 and 33C/50, affirmed that: “ (...) nothing in the present decision, which is aimed at the safeguarding of the cultural heritage of the Old City of Jerusalem, shall in any way affect the relevant United Nations resolutions and decisions, in particular the relevant Security Council resolutions on the legal status of Jerusalem”.