ON THE PRESEVATION OF HOLY SITES IN ISRAEL:

U.N. anti-racism panel questions Israel over non-Jewish holy sites

By Bradley S. Klapper
ASSOCIATED PRESS

11:10 a.m. February 19, 2007

GENEVA – A United Nations anti-racism panel has questioned Israel's policy on preserving holy sites, asking the country to explain whether it protects places considered sacred to religions other than Judaism.

Israel is expected to go later this week before the panel of 18 independent experts overseeing compliance with the United Nations' 38-year-old anti-racism treaty – a hearing that could fuel the debate over an Israeli construction project at Jerusalem's disputed hilltop compound known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary. The project has prompted protests among Palestinians and others in the Muslim world.

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This is an important issue and I'm glad the U.N. is staying on top of it. I look forward also to hearing them report on the policies of the Saudi authorities on the preservation of holy sites in Mecca.