UNESCO has censured Israel for limiting Muslim access to Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque compound, which has recently become the flashpoint for bloodshed and violence amid mounting tensions over the holy site.

According to diplomats, the UNESCO resolution also reaffirmed that two other holy sites in the West Bank, the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron and Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem, “are an integral part of Palestine.”

It was passed with 26 votes for and six against – the US, the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Estonia. There were 25 abstentions, including France, diplomats said.

At least 42 Palestinians have been killed by Israel troops since mid-September.