Bethlehem – Together – Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Hani Al-Hayek stressed the importance of the national team formed by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities to inventory the damage to archaeological sites in the Gaza Strip, in partnership with international institutions and organizations, led by UNESCO.
Minister Hayek spoke during his meeting with the Director of the UNESCO Office in Palestine, Ms. Noha Bawaziri, where the meeting took place at the headquarters of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in the city of Bethlehem.
Al-Hayek stressed the importance of partnership and bilateral cooperation between the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and UNESCO, as this relationship was translated on the ground through the implementation of many joint programs and projects, including the Tell al-Sultan Archaeological Project and the Novel Museum.
Minister Hayek spoke about the importance and necessity of working to limit the damage to cultural heritage and tourism in the Gaza Strip as a result of
the Israeli aggression, from which everything Palestinian was not spared. He stressed the formation of a Palestinian national team from the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and institutions working in the field of cultural heritage in Palestine to work to limit these damage. And come up with results and recommendations.
The Director of UNESCO in Palestine stressed the importance of the relationship and partnership with the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, which was translated on the ground through many programs and projects, such as the inclusion of the Tal al-Sultan site on the World Heritage List, and the plans and programs that will accompany this inclusion that work to develop the archaeological and tourism reality of this global site.
Al-Hayek praised the projects of the cultural heritage sector in the Gaza Strip in partnership between the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and international institutions, such as the Tal Umm Amer project in cooperation with UNESCO and the French side, worth 13
million euros, and the project to inventory the damages to cultural heritage in Gaza, which is being implemented by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and the Center for Cultural Heritage Preservation in cooperation. With UNESCO and funding from the British Council for Culture, at a value of 68 thousand pounds
During the meeting, coordination of efforts to limit the damage to archaeological sites in the Gaza Strip was discussed, in addition to ways to develop the joint bilateral relationship between UNESCO and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities to include new additional fields and ways to work on new projects aimed at serving the cultural heritage sector in Palestine, in addition to discussing the latest developments taking place at the Museum of Novel and Reality. Below the Peace Center opposite the Church of the Nativity, in addition to examining a picture of the latest developments on the Tel Umm Amer project, which is being implemented in Gaza at a value of 13 million euros and in cooperation w
ith the French side.
In conclusion, Minister Hayek, accompanied by the Director of the UNESCO Office in Palestine and the Mayor of Bethlehem, Attorney Antoun Salman, in addition to the UNESCO staff, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities staff, and the Bethlehem Municipality staff, made an inspection visit to the Novel Museum, where they were briefed on the work completed on the ground to open this museum.
The Minister of Tourism and Antiquities stressed the importance of the Novel Museum, which will be one of the important tourist destinations facing the city of Bethlehem for tourists coming to visit the Church of the Nativity. Through this museum, tourists will learn all the necessary information about the heritage of the city of Bethlehem, its antiquities and its history, as the museum will use modern technology in its operations. Display, in addition to the fact that the museum sector in Palestine plays a central role in preserving cultural heritage, collective memory, and building cultural identity, a
s cultural heritage represents the nation’s history and identity, and will contribute to consolidating national identity and working to transfer it across generations in various ways. It is worth noting that the museum The novel is being created under the supervision of UNESCO and with funding from the Norwegian government.
Source: Maan News Agency
