Christian pilgrims visit the Church of Nativity in the Palestinian city of Bethlehem on June 28, 2012.
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· The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is now the first Palestinian world
heritage site
· The vote signals a loosening of Israeli control on Palestinian
land, a Palestinian official says
· "This is a real theater of the absurd," says an
Israeli foreign office spokesman
· U.S. and Israeli funding to
UNESCO was cut over Palestinian membership
======================================================
A 14-point silver star
set into the marble floor marks the precise spot where Jesus is said to have
been born.
In
the 4th century, Emperor Constantine founded a church on the site that was
destroyed in the year 529, only to be replaced by larger structures, which form
the basis of the church today.
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Jerusalem ><><><>>
-- The United Nations
body responsible for preserving the world's most important cultural sites voted
Friday to grant "world heritage" status to the Church of the Nativity
in the Palestinian city of Bethlehem.
The
declaration by U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization covers
the West Bank church, venerated by Christians
as the birthplace of Jesus, and the surrounding route taken by religious
pilgrims.
It marks the
Palestinians' first bid for inclusion on the prestigious list of sites deemed
to hold "outstanding universal value" as part of the world's shared
heritage.
It
comes after Palestinians were granted membership of UNESCO last October, when
the body's general assembly voted overwhelmingly to accept them.
The
vote proved controversial within the United
States, which holds the view that Palestinians must reach
a peace deal with Israel
before the Palestinian
Territories can be
granted full membership in international organizations.
The
United States' and Israel's
subsequent funding cut to the body caused UNESCO lose more than a fifth of its
revenues.
The
declaration, announced in the Russian city of St. Petersburg, was backed by 13 of the
body's 21 members. Two countries abstained, while six countries voted against
the declaration.
Palestinian
Foreign Minister Riyad Malki, in St. Petersburg
for the vote, thanked all those who voted in favor of including Bethlehem's holiest sites
on the world heritage list.
"The
victory of Palestine
in international organizations is the beginning of the end of the Israeli
occupation," Malki said in a statement.
Hanan Ashrawi, a member
of the Palestine Liberation Organization's executive committee who heads the
group's Department of Culture and Information, told CNN from Ramallah that the
vote affirms the Palestinian identity and is one step toward Palestinian
self-determination.
"Now
we are responsible for our cultural and historical sites as part of human
civilization as a whole," Ashrawi said.
"Politically
it is important, because it is the beginning of the loosening of the control of
the Israeli occupation on our land, on our lives, on our culture and at all
attempts of confiscation and distortion of our cultural heritage and
reality," Ashrawi said.
Israeli
Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor told CNN that Israel was opposed
to the move.
"This
is a real theater of the absurd. The Palestinians have stepped over the regular
procedure of UNESCO and distorted the usual proceeding in order to vote a
decision that has nothing to do with world heritage sites and even less to do with
this site, the Church of the Nativity," he said.
"The only purpose
of this unprecedented voting procedure was to turn the commission into a
propaganda tool against Israel.
This should be denounced by all member countries of UNESCO, otherwise this will
not be the Palestinians' last word."
The West Bank city of Bethlehem, about 8 kilometers (5 miles) south of Jerusalem, is considered the Palestinian Territories'
top visitor destination, largely due to the religious significance of the
church.
One of the oldest
surviving Christian churches in the world, it drew 2 million visitors last
year, according to Nada Atrash, an architect and head of the research and
training unit at Bethlehem's Center for Cultural Heritage Preservation, which
has been lobbying for the site's designation as a World Heritage destination.
Atrash
said the center considers Bethlehem's inclusion
on the list "as a Palestinian dream, and as a reward of 11 years of work
in the field of preserving the cultural and natural heritage in Palestine."
Visitor numbers have hit
record highs in recent years but, according to a report into developing tourism
in the town, Bethlehem
has yet to properly capitalize on its potential. The majority of the visitors
were day-trippers on short visits, meaning the full economic benefits of
tourism did not flow into the town.
Atrash said it is hoped
that gaining world heritage status will help efforts to boost Bethlehem's appeal as a destination and keep
visitors in the town longer.
"We
are mainly seeking to extend the stay of the visitors, who usually drop (in) to
Bethlehem for
few hours to visit the church and leave without visiting the town," she
said. "We hope that this inscription would contribute to both the
promotion of the site and its protection."
Concerns
have been raised over the condition of the church, which has suffered extensive
earthquake damage in its long history.
Another issues is that
responsibility for its administration is shared among three religious
authorities: the Greek Orthodox, Armenian and Roman Catholic churches.
On occasion, tensions
among the groups have spilled over into violence; in December, about 100 Greek
Orthodox and Armenian clerics fought with brooms when a tussle broke out while
cleaning the church.
One of Christianity's
most holy places, the site's focal point is the Grotto of the Nativity, a
rectangular cavern beneath the church that has been considered the site of
Christ's birth since at least the 2nd century.
शिवदासपुरा।
जयपुर-टोंक हाईवे से तीन किलोमीटर दूर सालिगरामपुरा गांव के पास शनिवार
अपराह्न छह वर्षीय बालक पानी भरे गड्ढे में डूब गया, जिसे देर रात तक बाहर
नहीं निकाला जा सका। माना जा रहा है कि बालक गड्ढे के तल में जमा दलदल में
फंसा है।
पुलिस व ग्रामीणों ने बताया कि बैरवा की ढाणी निवासी नानगराम बैरवा की
बेटी सुमन (12) पास ही बकरियां चराने गई थी। उसके साथ छोटा भाई विशाल (6)
भी था। विशाल खेलता हुआ गड्ढे के पास पहुंच गया और पैर फिसलने से उसमें जा
गिरा। बहन को पता चला तो रोते हुए घर पहुंची। माता-पिता मजदूरी पर गए थे,
इसलिए पड़ोसियों को बताया। 
