Leading up to the 40th session of the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization’s World Heritage Comm. in Istanbul on 7/10–20, the Palestinians and Jordanians put forward a res. concerning Israeli violations at Haram al-Sharif (see “The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict” above for more on the violations). The draft accused Israel of “misconduct,” including “deliberate vandalism” at Muslim holy sites, and as it did not include any mention of Jewish ties to the site, the Israeli govt. mobilized against it. According to the Jerusalem Post (7/12), Israeli diplomats began pressuring France, the UK, and Germany in particular to oppose the res. Before the vote could take place, the comm. decided (7/17) to cut short the session in light of the failed Turkish coup on 7/15, pushing back a slew of World Heritage Comm. business to an ad hoc session on 10/24–26.
Also of note: Israeli amb. to the UN Danny Danon was elected to the Sixth Comm. of the UNGA in a secret ballot on 6/13, marking the 1st time an Israeli diplomat has ever taken charge of a permanent comm. at the UNGA. Because the Sixth Comm. focuses on legal questions, its program for the 10–11/2016 UNGA session was set to include work on “measures to eliminate international terrorism” and “the law of transboundary aquifers.”