Israeli aggression on historic Sanaa threatens global cultural heritage

SANAA, Sept. 27 (YPA) – The Sanaa-based General Authority for Antiquities and Museums strongly condemned on Friday the Israeli aggression on Yemen’s antiquities, noting that the fresh attacks struck the ancient city of Sanaa, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1986.

In a statement, the authority said that the aggressive act constitutes a blatant attack on Yemen’s historical identity and a flagrant violation of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.

The statement explained that the Israeli airstrikes targeted the eastern neighborhoods of the city, including Al-Bakiriyah, Salah al-Din, and Al-Maftoon, causing significant damage to historical buildings and the unique architectural environment. It has come as part of a systematic series of Israeli-American-Arab attacks targeting Old Sanaa over the past ten years of aggression.

It called upon UNESCO and other international organizations concerned with cultural heritage to urgently fulfill their responsibilities by condemning the crime, monitoring violations, and working to protect the city, which is not only a heritage site for Yemen but also represents a universal cultural and human legacy.

The authority’s statement stated that the world’s silence in the face of the attacks on Old Sana’a constitutes complicity and opens the door to further crimes against the cultural heritage and historical identity of the people, emphasizing that Yemenis to defend their cultural heritage regardless of the scale of the aggression.

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