A committee of the UN cultural body (UNESCO) declared this Sunday that the prehistoric ruins of the biblical city of Jericho are a World Heritage Site located in Palestine, in a vote rejected by Israel, which does not recognize the existence of a State. Palestinian.   Jericho, one of the oldest urban centers in the world, is located in the West Bank, the territories occupied by Israel and administered by the Palestinian autonomous government of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), which is a member of the UN as a "non-member observer state" in representation of all Palestinians.   Meeting in Saudi Arabia, the World Heritage Committee voted to include in its lists the archaeological site of Tell es-Sultan, also called Ancient Jericho, which contains ruins dating to the 9th millennium BC and is outside the city itself.   Israel left the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2019 amid accusations that the UN body had a biased anti-Israel stance that sought to minimize its historical connection with the so-called Holy Land.   "A permanent settlement arose here in 9,000 or 8,000 BC due to the fertile terrain of the oasis and easy access to water"   Israel also rejected Palestine's inclusion as a member of UNESCO in 2011.   However, Israel remains a member of the World Heritage Convention, and sent a delegate to the meeting in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.   The convention is the 1972 international treaty that created the World Heritage list with the goals of preserving the cultural character and protecting the natural environment of designated sites. It is the document that guides the committee's work.