The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites are places of importance to cultural or natural heritage as described in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, established in 1972. Cultural heritage consists of monuments (such as architectural works, monumental sculptures, or inscriptions), groups of buildings, and sites (including archaeological sites). Natural heritage is defined as physical and biological formations, geological and physiographical formations (including habitats of threatened flora and fauna), and sites which are important from the point of view of scientific research, conservation or natural aesthetic.
The State of Israel ratified the convention on 6 October 1999, making its cultural and natural sites eligible for inclusion on the list. The country has nine sites, all of which are cultural. The earliest inclusions were Masada and the Old City of Acre in 2001; the latest inclusion was the network of caves at Beit Guvrin-Maresha National Park in 2014. In addition, the Israeli cabinet has put 18 sites on its tentative list, meaning they intend to nominate them as World Heritage Sites sometime in the future. 14 of them were put in the year 2000. Unlike the official list, the tentative list contains several sites of natural and mixed heritage.
Due to its occupation of the State of Palestine, Israel has a strained relationship with UNESCO, described by Palestinian journalist Ramzy Baroud as "an existential battle". UNESCO recognizes Palestine's ownership of East Jerusalem in 2011, despite assigning no countries to the Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls site."Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls", UNESCO World Heritage List website, accessed 13 November 2017.UNESCO press release, 15 July 2011, accessed 13 November 2017. On that same year, Palestine ratified the convention, a decision opposed by Israel who left UNESCO in 2019 claiming that the organization fails to recognize its cultural connection with Jerusalem, though it still remains in the convention. The inclusion of Tell es-Sultan in ancient Jericho (a city in the West Bank of Palestine) as a Palestinian site was criticized by Israel's Foreign Ministry as indicating "Palestinians' cynical use of UNESCO and politicization of [it]" and wishes to revert the "distorted decisions". Israeli heritage organization Emek Shaveh noting that the part of Jericho claimed by Israel is not the one listed.
World Heritage Sites UNESCO lists sites under ten criteria; each entry must meet at least one of the criteria. Criteria i through vi are cultural, and vii through x are natural.
Site; named after the World Heritage Committee's official designation Location; at city, regional, or provincial level and geocoordinates Criteria; as defined by the World Heritage Committee Area; in hectares and acres. If available, the size of the buffer zone has been noted as well. A value of zero implies that no data has been published by UNESCO Year; during which the site was inscribed to the World Heritage List Description; brief information about the site, including reasons for qualifying as an endangered site, if applicable
World Heritage Sites located in Israel Site Image Location Criteria Areaha (acre) Year Description Refs Bahá’i Holy Places in Haifa and the Western Galilee Haifa District and Northern District Cultural:(iii)(vi) ; buffer zone 2008 Biblical Tels: Megiddo, Hazor, Be’er Sheva Northern District and Negev Cultural:(ii)(iii)(iv)(vi) ; buffer zone 2005 Incense Route – Desert Cities in the Negev Negev Cultural:(iii)(v) — 2005 Masada Southern District Cultural:(iii)(iv)(vi) ; buffer zone 2001 Old City of Acre Western Galilee Cultural:(ii)(iii)(v) 2001 White City of Tel Aviv—the Modern Movement Tel Aviv Cultural:(ii)(iv) ; buffer zone 2003 Sites of Human Evolution at Mount Carmel: The Nahal Me’arot / Wadi el-Mughara Caves Mount Carmel Cultural:(iii)(v) ; buffer zone 2012 Caves of Maresha and Beit Guvrin in the Judean Lowlands as a Microcosm of the Land of the Caves Cultural: (v) 2014 Necropolis of Beit She’arim: A Landmark of Jewish Renewal Cultural: (ii)(iii) ; buffer zone 2015
List of properties in the tentative list In addition to sites inscribed on the World Heritage List, member states can maintain a list of tentative sites that they may consider for nomination. Nominations for the World Heritage List are only accepted if the site was previously listed on the tentative list. , Israel recorded 18 sites on its tentative list. The sites, along with the year they were included on the tentative list are:UNESCO Official page for Tentative list
Site Image Location Criteria Year Triple-arch Gate at Dan & Sources of the JordanNorthern DistrictMixed:(iv)(vi)(vii)(x)2000 Early Synagogues in the GalileeNorthern DistrictCultural:(iii)(vi)2000 The Galilee Journeys of Jesus & the ApostlesNorthern DistrictCultural:(iii)(vi)2000 Sea of Galilee & its Ancient Sites Northern DistrictMixed2000 Khirbat al-Minya Northern DistrictCultural:(iv)2000 Mount Arbel (Arbel, Nabi Shu'ayb, Horns of Hattin) Northern DistrictMixed2000 Degania Alef & Nahalal Northern DistrictCultural:(v)(vi)2000 Beit She'an Northern DistrictCultural:(ii)(iv)(v)(vi)2000 Caesarea MaritimaHaifa DistrictCultural:(ii)(iv)(v)(vi)2000 White Mosque of RamlaCentral DistrictCultural:(ii)(iv)2000 Jerusalem (extension)Jerusalem DistrictCultural:(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)2000 Mount Karkom Southern DistrictCultural:(iii)(v)2000 Timna ValleySouthern DistrictMixed2000 The Crusader Fortresses Various districtsCultural:(iv)(v)(vi)2000 Makhteshim Country Southern District Mixed2001 The Great Rift Valley – Migratory Routes – Hula ValleyNorthern DistrictNatural2004 Lifta (Mey Naftoah) – Traditional Mountain Village Jerusalem DistrictCultural:(ii)(iii)(v)2015 Ein Kerem, a Village & its Cultural Landscape Jerusalem DistrictCultural:(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)2015
See also Tourism in Israel List of World Heritage Sites in Western Asia
References
External links UNESCO World Heritage Centre – Israel