UNESCO passed a resolution Wednesday condemning ongoing Israeli archaeological excavations near the Temple Mount and elsewhere in Jerusalem's Old City.<br />The resolution proposal had originally sought to name the Western Wall a Muslim religious site, but Arab states struck that demand from the draft earlier in the day.<br />It also condemned the "aggression and illegal measures taken against the freedom of worship and access of Muslims to Al-Aqsa Mosque and Israel's attempts to break the status quo since 1967."<br />Twenty-six UNESCO representatives voted in favor of the resolution, six voted against, and twenty-five abstained.<br />The vote came hours after the Arab states withdrew their demand that UNESCO declare the Western Wall an "integral part" of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Jerusalem's Temple Mount.<br />All references to Jerusalem as "the occupied capital of Palestine" were withdrawn from the draft, as was a call for the international community to condemn Israel for urging "civilians to carry weapons whenever they leave their homes."
