The United Nations cultural agency on Friday updated its list of World Heritage in Danger, with locations including a Lebanese castle that Israeli forces recently captured as well as an archaeological site in the occupied West Bank, amid Israeli objections.
The decision was made during a UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) meeting in South Korea's Busan.
Members agreed that five castles in Lebanon's Mount Amel, including Beaufort Castle, and the West Bank's Sebastia would both go on the agency's World Heritage List and List of World Heritage in Danger.
The decision came after reviewing the nominations on an emergency basis, citing ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.
Israel's Foreign Ministry had urged the committee to reject the designation efforts, calling the nominations a "weaponization of cultural heritage."Israeli forces occupied Lebanon's Beaufort Castle in MayImage: Stringer/REUTERS
