UNESCO decision on Patriarchs’ Tomb

The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization has drawn the wrath of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu after it called the burial sites of the biblical patriarchs and matriarchs “integral parts of occupied Palestine” and told Israel to remove them from its list of heritage sites. Netanyahu called the decision on Rachel’s Tomb near Bethlehem and the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron “absurd” and an attempt to disconnect Israel from its heritage. The UNESCO statement, issued last week, said Rachel’s Tomb is located on the site of a mosque.