Iran lauds UNESCO anti-Israel resolution on Palestinians’ rights

Iran has hailed a resolution by the UN heritage body, UNESCO, that denounces Israel’s illegal activities at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem al-Quds.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi on Saturday lauded the move by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to emphasize the religious rights of Muslims vis-à-vis al-Aqsa Mosque.

He added that Israel’s negative reaction to the resolution indicated the regime’s frustration, lack of accountability towards international resolutions and laws and its deceptive measures aimed at misleading the world public opinion.

Twenty-four countries, including Algeria, Brazil, China, Iran, Russia and South Africa, voted in favor of the UNESCO resolution on Thursday, while the six countries of the United States, Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Lithuania and Estonia opposed it.

A total of 26 countries, including Albania, Argentina, France, Greece, Japan, South Korea, Spain and Sweden abstained. Serbia and Turkmenistan were absent.

The resolution strongly condemned “the escalating Israeli aggression and illegal measures against … the freedom of worship and Muslims’ access to their holy site al-Aqsa Mosque/al-Haram al-Sharif.”

It also called on “Israel, the occupying power, to respect the historic status quo and to immediately stop these measures.”

The resolution also criticized the “continuous storming of Haram al-Sharif by the Israeli right-wing extremists and uniformed forces.”

Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in Islam after Masjid al-Haram in Mecca and Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina.

The draft resolution, which aimed to “safeguard the Palestinian cultural heritage and the distinctive character of east Jerusalem,” has infuriated Israeli officials.

A day after the adoption of UNESCO resolution, the Israeli regime suspended its cooperation with the UN cultural agency.