List of World Heritage Sites in Israel

Bahá’i Holy Places

Tel Megiddo

Tel Hazor

Tel Be'er Sheva

Incense Route – Desert Cities in the Negev

Location of World Heritage Sites in Israel

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites are places of importance to cultural or natural heritage as described in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, established in 1972.^[1] Cultural heritage consists of monuments (such as architectural works, monumental sculptures, or inscriptions), groups of buildings, and sites (including archaeological sites). Natural heritage is defined as physical and biological formations, geological and physiographical formations (including habitats of threatened flora and fauna), and sites which are important from the point of view of scientific research, conservation or natural aesthetic.^[2]

The State of Israel ratified the convention on 6 October 1999, making its cultural and natural sites eligible for inclusion on the list. The country has nine sites, all of which are cultural. The earliest inclusions were Masda and the Old City of Acre in 2001; the latest inclusion was the network of caves at Beit Guvrin-Maresha National Park in 2014. In addition, the Israeli cabinet has put 18 sites on its tentative list, meaning they intend to nominate them as World Heritage Sites sometime in the future. 14 of them were put in the year 2000. Unlike the official list, the tentative list contains several sites of natural and mixed heritage.^[3]

Due to its conflict with the State of Palestine, Israel has a strained relationship with UNESCO, described by Palestinian journalist Ramzy Baroud as "an existential battle".^[4] UNESCO recognizes Palestine's ownership of East Jerusalem in 2011, despite assigning no countries to the Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls site.^[5]^[6] On that same year, Palestine ratified the convention, a decision opposed by Israel who left UNESCO in 2019 claiming that the organization fails to recognize its cultural connection with Jerusalem, though it still remains in the convention. The inclusion of Tell es-Sultan in ancient Jericho as a Palestinian site was criticized by Israel's Foreign Ministry as indicating "Palestinians' cynical use of UNESCO and politicization of [it]" and wishes to revert the "distorted decisions".^[7] Israeli heritage organization Emek Shaveh noting that the part of Jericho claimed by Israel is not the one listed.^[8]

World Heritage Sites

UNESCO lists sites under ten criteria; each entry must meet at least one of the criteria. Criteria i through vi are cultural, and vii through x are natural.^[9]

The table is sortable by column by clicking on the

at the top of the appropriate column; alphanumerically for the site, area, and year columns; by state party for the location column; and by criteria type for the criteria column. Transborder sites sort at the bottom.

Site; named after the World Heritage Committee's official designation^[10]

Location; at city, regional, or provincial level and geocoordinates

Criteria; as defined by the World Heritage Committee^[11]

Area; in hectares and acres. If available, the size of the buffer zone has been noted as well. A value of zero implies that no data has been published by UNESCO

Year; during which the site was inscribed to the World Heritage List

Description; brief information about the site, including reasons for qualifying as an endangered site, if applicable

World Heritage Sites located in Israel

Site	Location	Criteria	Area ha (acre)	Year	Refs
Bahá’i Holy Places in Haifa and the Western Galilee	Haifa District and Northern District 32°49′46″N 34°58′18″E / 32.82944°N 34.97167°E / 32.82944; 34.97167	Cultural: (iii)(vi)	63 (160); buffer zone 255 (630)	2008	^[12]
Biblical Tels: Megiddo, Hazor, Be’er Sheva	Northern District and Negev 32°35′50″N 35°10′56″E / 32.59722°N 35.18222°E / 32.59722; 35.18222	Cultural: (ii)(iii)(iv)(vi)	96 (240); buffer zone 604 (1,490)	2005	^[13]
Incense Route – Desert Cities in the Negev	Negev 30°32′28″N 35°9′39″E / 30.54111°N 35.16083°E / 30.54111; 35.16083	Cultural: (iii)(v)	—	2005	^[14]
Masada	Southern District 31°18′49″N 35°21′10″E / 31.31361°N 35.35278°E / 31.31361; 35.35278 (Masada)	Cultural: (iii)(iv)(vi)	276 (680); buffer zone 28,965 (71,570)	2001	^[15]
Old City of Acre	Western Galilee 32°55′42″N 35°5′2″E / 32.92833°N 35.08389°E / 32.92833; 35.08389 (Old City of Acre)	Cultural: (ii)(iii)(v)	63 (160)	2001	^[16]
White City of Tel Aviv—the Modern Movement	Tel Aviv 32°4′0″N 34°47′0″E / 32.06667°N 34.78333°E / 32.06667; 34.78333	Cultural: (ii)(iv)	140 (350); buffer zone 197 (490)	2003	^[17]
Sites of Human Evolution at Mount Carmel: The Nahal Me’arot / Wadi el-Mughara Caves	Mount Carmel 32°40′12″N 34°57′55″E / 32.67000°N 34.96528°E / 32.67000; 34.96528	Cultural: (iii)(v)	54 (130); buffer zone 370 (910)	2012	^[18]
Caves of Maresha and Beit Guvrin in the Judean Lowlands as a Microcosm of the Land of the Caves	Southern District 31°36′0″N 34°53′44″E / 31.60000°N 34.89556°E / 31.60000; 34.89556 (Caves of Maresha and Bet-Guvrin)	Cultural: (v)	259 (640)	2014	^[19]
Necropolis of Beit She’arim: A Landmark of Jewish Renewal	Haifa District 32°42′8″N 35°7′37″E / 32.70222°N 35.12694°E / 32.70222; 35.12694 (Necropolis of Bet She’arim)	Cultural: (ii)(iii)	12 (30); buffer zone 64 (160)	2015	^[20]

List of properties in the tentative list

In addition to sites inscribed on the World Heritage List, member states can maintain a list of tentative sites that they may consider for nomination. Nominations for the World Heritage List are only accepted if the site was previously listed on the tentative list.^[21] As of 2015^[update], Israel recorded 18 sites on its tentative list. The sites, along with the year they were included on the tentative list are:^[22]

Site	Location	Criteria	Year
Triple-arch Gate at Dan & Sources of the Jordan	Northern District	Mixed: (iv)(vi)(vii)(x)	2000
Early Synagogues in the Galilee	Northern District	Cultural: (iii)(vi)	2000
The Galilee Journeys of Jesus & the Apostles	Northern District	Cultural: (iii)(vi)	2000
Sea of Galilee & its Ancient Sites	Northern District	Mixed	2000
Khirbat al-Minya	Northern District	Cultural: (iv)	2000
Mount Arbel (Arbel, Nabi Shu'ayb, Horns of Hattin)	Northern District	Mixed	2000
Degania Alef & Nahalal	Northern District	Cultural: (v)(vi)	2000
Beit She'an	Northern District	Cultural: (ii)(iv)(v)(vi)	2000
Caesarea Maritima	Haifa District	Cultural: (ii)(iv)(v)(vi)	2000
White Mosque of Ramla	Central District	Cultural: (ii)(iv)	2000
Jerusalem (extension)	Jerusalem District	Cultural: (i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)	2000
Mount Karkom	Southern District	Cultural: (iii)(v)	2000
Timna Valley	Southern District	Mixed	2000
The Crusader Fortresses	Various districts	Cultural: (iv)(v)(vi)	2000
Makhteshim Country	Southern District	Mixed	2001
The Great Rift Valley – Migratory Routes – Hula Valley	Northern District	Natural	2004
Lifta (Mey Naftoah) – Traditional Mountain Village	Jerusalem District	Cultural: (ii)(iii)(v)	2015
Ein Kerem, a Village & its Cultural Landscape	Jerusalem District	Cultural: (ii)(iii)(v)(vi)	2015