Israel Incensed as UNESCO Adds Lebanese and West Bank Sites to World Heritage List

The Mount Amel Castles and the archaeological ruins of Sebastia are among six new heritage sites considered to be in danger.

Israel Incensed as UNESCO Adds Lebanese and West Bank Sites to World Heritage List
Israeli military personnel onsite during the siege of Beaufort Castle, one of five historic military fortresses in Lebanon, on May 31, 2026 (photo IDF Spokesperson's Unit via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0)

Amid Israel's targeted land seizures and ongoing military offensives, the Mount Amel Castles in Lebanon and the archaeological ruins of Sebastia in the Occupied West Bank are among six new locations that were urgently added to UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in Danger this week.

The international agency immediately recognized both locations as vulnerable upon inscribing them as World Heritage Sites at the World Heritage Committee's 48th session in Busan, South Korea.

Israel condemned the designations, accusing UNESCO of “cynical exploitation of cultural heritage for political purposes.”