(Photo Credit: UNESCO)
Saudi Arabia has not committed to allowing Israeli representatives to enter the kingdom for the UNESCO World Heritage Committee’s September meeting in Riyadh, Israeli officials and Western diplomats with direct knowledge of the issue told Axios on 30 June.
If Saudi Arabia agrees to allow Israeli officials to attend the UNESCO conference, it would be the first time officials from Israel are allowed to officially and publicly enter the kingdom.
Negotiations on the matter are ongoing, but UNESCO has said the decision to move the conference to a different country could be made within a few days if free access to enter the kingdom is not given to all delegates.
According to Axios, “Saudi Arabia appears to be taking a cautious approach to any public steps that could be seen as normalization with Israel.”
US and Israeli officials are publicly lobbying Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords, which saw several Arab countries normalize relations with Israel starting in 2020. Some 25 percent of Israeli arms sales now go to Arab states who have joined the accords, most notably the UAE.
However, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (MbS) has resisted signing the accords, claiming that Israel must first implement the 2002 Saudi Peace initiatives to end the occupation of the West Bank and allow the creation of a Palestinian state.
Axios notes further that US officials have previously said they believe MbS is ready to normalize relations with Israel but wants to do it as part of a larger deal with the US, and therefore, he doesn’t want to take any more incremental normalization steps.
MbS is reportedly also seeking concessions from the US that would allow Saudi Arabia to acquire US nuclear technology and additional weapons systems.
Earlier this month, the AP reported that two environmental groups, EcoPeace and the Society for the Protection of Nature, petitioned Israeli authorities to halt plans to expand the Har Gilo Jewish settlement, citing its potential impact on the lush terrace gardens which were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014.
Palestinians have worked the terraced hillsides of Battir, a farming village southwest of occupied Jerusalem, for hundreds of years, using traditional methods to grow olives, fruits, beans, and exquisite eggplants.
“The complex irrigation system of this water supply has led to the creation of dry walls terraces which may have been exploited since antiquity,” according to documentation filed with UNESCO. “The integrity of this traditional water system is guaranteed by the families of Battir, who depend on it.”
But the AP reports that residents fear their ancient way of life could soon be in danger as Israel’s ultra-nationalist government moves ahead with the settlement project.
“If you build on top of these rocks, you can block the water from reaching the springs,” supplying water to the historic terraces, said Nadav Tal, a hydrologist who serves as the Middle East Water Officer for EcoPeace, a joint Israeli-Palestinian group.
Further, the proposed construction “will grab a great amount of land, and you don’t know where it will end,” said Rashid Owinah, a resident of Battir whose family has farmed using the terraces for generations.
Palestinians living under Israeli occupation suffer from chronic water supply shortages, as the Israeli state has taken over many of the West Bank’s water sources, restricting access for Palestinians and diverting water for use by Jewish settlers.