During the forty-fifth session of UNESCO, held in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, the World Heritage Committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) decided to register the site of ancient Jericho/Tell al-Sultan on the World Heritage List.

The Tel al-Sultan site has a unique strategy stemming from its location near Ain al-Sultan, which forms the basis for the existence of the city of Jericho, and the beginning of human life during the Natufian period before the appearance of plants about 10,500 years ago.

The site of Tel al-Sultan is the oldest walled agricultural city in the world, and its history extends more than 8 thousand years, and it represents a unique architectural model in ancient times.

The exceptional global importance of ancient Jericho (Sultan Hill) is that it is one of the oldest fortified cities in the world dating back to the Neolithic Age (8350 - 7000 BC). During that period, the city was fortified with a huge defensive wall and a circular tower (9 m in diameter and about 8 m in height). There is a trench cut into the rock (3 meters deep and 8 meters wide). The tower contains an entrance, a covered foyer, and an internal staircase consisting of 22 steps leading to the top of the tower (which is the oldest built staircase in the world).”

President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the decision, considering it extremely important and evidence of the authenticity and history of this Palestinian people, stressing that the State of Palestine will continue to preserve this unique site for all humanity.