The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list as the first site to be listed as Palestinian.

The decision was made despite protests from Israel and opinions of experts who claim the church is not endangered.

The Palestinian authorities said the Church is allegedly “under threat of extermination due to Israeli occupation.”

The Greek Orthodox Convent, the Church of St Catherine, the Latin and Armenian Convents and the surrounding route taken by pilgrims have all been nominated for inclusion on the list.

The churches in charge of the site Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian diplomatically expressed their protest against inclusion in the list.