12 March. The Director General, Mounir Bouchenaki, undertook a technical expert mission to the old city of Jerusalem, from 27 February to 2 March, on behalf of the Director-General of UNESCO.

The mission was led by Mr Francesco Bandarin, Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (WHC), with the participation of Prof Michael Petzet, president of ICOMOS, and Ms Veronique Dauge, Chief, Arab States Section at the WHC. The aim of the mission was to study the site of the ramp going to the Mughrabi Gate of the Esplanade of Al Aqsa Mosque.

Several meetings were held with experts from Israel Antiquities Authority and with officials from the Islamic Waqf of Jerusalem. Site visits were also organized and the results of these will be reported to the Director General of UNESCO.

updated on: 11 June, 2007