CrossFireArabia
CROSSFIREARABIA – 50,000 Palestinians performed the Friday prayers in Al Aqsa Mosque despite the strict entry into the holy compound imposed by the Israeli occupation army. Those who wanted to perform the prayers came from all over the West Bank and masses of people entered the mosque despite the fact that Israeli soldiers checked every single one of their IDs.
marwan
Palestine has successfully secured the inscription of the archaeological site of Sebastia on UNESCO’s List of World Heritage in Danger, Palestinian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Hani al-Hayek announced on Friday.
The decision was made during the 48th session of the World Heritage Committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), held in Busan, South Korea.
The committee approved the listing of Sebastia under the emergency procedure and based on criterion (iii) of the World Heritage Convention, following the adoption of Palestine’s nomination file, which highlighted the site’s outstanding universal value as a unique testimony to the succession of civilizations and cultures that inhabited the area from the Iron Age through the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Crusader, and Ottoman periods.
In its decision, the committee said Sebastia is distinguished by its multiple archaeological layers and clear historical sequence, reflecting the continuous development of an urban, political, and religious center over more than two millennia, giving the site exceptional universal value deserving protection under the World Heritage Convention.
The committee also decided to place the site on the List of World Heritage in Danger due to what it described as serious threats, including Israeli occupation-related measures, land seizure plans, projects aimed at altering the historical and archaeological character of the site, and restrictions affecting protection, management, and preservation efforts.
The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities welcomed the decision, describing the inscription of Sebastia as a historic national achievement that reflects Palestine’s cultural significance and demonstrates its commitment to protecting its cultural heritage in accordance with international standards despite challenges posed by Israeli occupation practices. WAFA
CrossFireArabia
Posted on Aslam Dar:
When you hear people say that history didn’t start on October 7th, this is exactly what they mean.
The date was 9 April, 1948. Just weeks before Israel declared independence, the peaceful Palestinian village of Deir Yassin had signed a peace pact with their neighboring Israeli settlers, and the Palestinian villagers took that agreement seriously and actively refused to allow Arab militias into their village, choosing instead to remain completely neutral in hopes of maintaining peaceful relations.
Now, the Israeli settlers knew the village had no armed protection, and rather than honoring that peace pact like the Palestinians did, they saw this as an opportunity. Zionist militias launched a savage attack on the village. They slaughtered hundreds of civilians, mostly women, children, and the elderly, and they did it in their own homes.
Reports from the time document acts of sexual violence and mutilation. After the killings, survivors were loaded onto trucks and paraded through the streets of Jerusalem. They were publicly humiliated and mocked for the crime of trusting the Israeli settlers.
Word of the massacre spread rapidly. The horror of what happened caused widespread panic throughout Palestine. Villages began to flee en masse, terrified they would suffer the same fate. The Israeli settlers had discovered that terror was an extremely effective weapon, and they used that fear to dramatically accelerate the Nakba.
There are many stories just like this. But why didn’t we hear about them in school?
