UNESCO'S Hebron vote just the opening Palestinian salvo against Israel

"The inscription of the Tomb of the Patriarchs to the World Heritage in Danger list was just the opening salvo in what will likely be a new battlefront in the Palestinian Authority's diplomatic war against the State of Israel.

Israel is already struggling to prevent the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization from erasing Jewish ties to Jerusalem's Old City and the Temple Mount.

It now fears the fight to retain its historical legitimacy has extended itself to Hebron, a city that has had an almost continuous Jewish presence since the time of King David.

Both biblical sites are the two holiest and most historically ensconced in Judaism, but are precariously located from a geopolitical standpoint...

In 1982, UNESCO inscribed Jerusalem's Old City to Jordan when placing it on its World Heritage in Danger list. On Friday, in Krakow, it registered Hebron's Old Town and the Tomb of the Patriarchs to the 'State of Palestine' when adding it to the same list.

It's the first time UNESCO has registered a significant Jewish religious site to the 'State of Palestine.'

UNESCO evaluates its World Heritage in Danger list three times a year: at its annual World Heritage Committee meeting and at its biannual executive board meetings.

The placement of Hebron on the list means that three times a year, Arab states are now expected to submit resolutions on Hebron that question Jewish ties to the site and condemn Israel for its military control of the West Bank. Arab states already submit such triennial resolutions on Jerusalem...

Palestinian attacks against Israeli soldiers and Border Police in Hebron's Old City would also be under increased UNESCO scrutiny, with requests for the international body to evaluate the validity of the IDF's response to such incidents.

This will also intensify the international spotlight on Hebron, a city with over 220,000 Palestinians, which is already one of the most contentious hot spots in the West Bank...

It was not incidental that Israel's Ambassador to UNESCO Carmel Shama-Hacohen mentioned the Holocaust at the meeting in Krakow, Poland – a country where millions of Jews were killed in concentration camps in World War II.

Then the battle was for physical survival against the Nazis; more than 50 years later, Shama-Hacohen saw himself fighting for Jewish historical and cultural survival at UNESCO..."