UNESCO lists world heritage sites in Lebanon, West Bank as in danger

PARIS - The United Nations’ cultural agency on July 24 placed locations, including a Lebanese castle recently conquered by Israeli forces and an archaeological site in the occupied West Bank, on its list of World Heritage in Danger.

Beaufort Castle, a Crusader fortress also known as Qalaat al-Shakif, was captured by Israeli forces invading Lebanon in May as part of their war with militant group Hezbollah.

It is one of five castles in the Jabal Amel area of southern Lebanon listed together by UNESCO. The mountainous area has come under repeated Israeli bombardment during the war.

UNESCO said the fortresses had sustained damage and faced ongoing threats from the conflict “serious enough to justify resorting to an emergency procedure”.

Lebanese Culture Minister Ghassan Salame told AFP the endangered listing was “a remarkable achievement in the effort to protect these important Lebanese historical landmarks”.

He said only two of the castles were “within the Lebanese government’s reach” and accused Israel of having already destroyed Shamaa Castle and threatening to demolish Beaufort.

Also added to the in-danger list was Sebastia, near the West Bank city of Nablus.

The archaeological site of Sebastia, west of the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Nablus. PHOTO: AFP

The site is thought to be the ancient Israeli and later Roman city of Samaria, whose name Israel still uses to refer to the northern West Bank.

In recent years, Israeli authorities have taken an interest in the site, which sits near the modern Palestinian town of Sebastia but is in an area controlled exclusively by Israel.

In 2025, they expropriated around 200ha of Palestinian land near the site, saying it was for preservation and development purposes.

While Palestinians in Sebastia have developed a tourism industry based on the site, the new Israeli plans threaten to bypass it with an Israelis-only road, a fence and entry fees.

“The integrity of the site is currently threatened by an expropriation project aimed at subdividing the property and creating the ‘Samaria’ (Shomron) National Park,” UNESCO said.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar hit back at the listing, blaming it on Palestinians and saying it was an attempt at “erasing and denying the Jewish connection to this land”.

The sites were added to the endangered list after votes by all 196 member states of the UN agency. AFP