Is it the "Trump Effect"?

Israel is finally standing its ground against the hostile United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and that could have a lot to do with the American president's aggressive position toward the world body.

On Saturday, Israel denied access to Hebron to a delegation from UNESCO. The aim of the planned visit was to make a show of solidarity with Hebron's Old City, which UNESCO lists as a "threatened" Palestinian World Heritage Site.

Hebron's Old City is one of 35 sites to be discussed at UNESCO's World Heritage Committee next week in Krakow, Poland. The Palestinians requested the Hebron be urgently addressed there, claiming that the biblical city is being threatened with "destruction."

Israel's ambassador to UNESCO, Carmel Shama-Hacohen, applauded the decision to bar his UN colleagues from Hebron. "Israel should not allow any political action by the Palestinians under the cover of culture," he said.

Photo: Hebron's Old City. Lior Mizrahi / Flash90