If you’ve been waiting with baited breath, UNESCO just released it’s official report (pdf format) on the Israeli excavations at Mughrabi Gate. The six page report has good background info and clears Israel of damaging holy sites. Unfortunately, it also assaults Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem:
44. The mission clearly indicated to all the concerned parties that the heritage value of the Mughrabi pathway, an integral part of the site inscribed in the World Heritage List, cannot be limited to archaeological structures, but has to include its important cultural, religious and symbolic aspects and that these should be duly taken into account in any phase of the consolidation and restoration process.
45. As the project concerns different religious and cultural communities, it is of the utmost importance that dialogue and communication be established in order to include the views of all concerned parties.
46. The mission is aware that in the present situation no dialogue exists between the Israeli authorities and the Islamic Waqf. As this situation is at the origin of the present crisis, all parties should be invited to contribute in addressing and solving this issue in a cooperative way.
47. The involvement of the Jordanian Government, which has a supervisory role on the Haram es-Sharif recognized by Israel, would be most appropriate….
51. The government of Israel should be asked to engage immediately a consultation process with all the concerned parties, in particular, the Islamic Waqf and of Jordan, the latter having signed a peace agreement on 26 October, 1994, and agree upon a plan of action before taking any further action and decision thereon.
52. The process should be supervised by an international team of experts coordinated by UNESCO….
Where else would a government be told to consult or include outside bodies? The 1994 Israel-Jordan peace treaty refers to the “special role of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in Muslim Holy shrines in Jerusalem,” this doesn’t include areas outside the Temple Mount like Mughrabi Gate. The digging isn’t taking place on the Temple Mount.
