Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations cultural heritage body UNESCO on Tuesday blasted the organisation’s involvement in a resolution vote regarding the country’s sole claim to Jerusalem and its Old City, one of the world’s most sacred sites to Jews, Muslims and Christians.

The resolution, a document seen by Reuters TV, said it aimed to “safeguard the cultural heritage of Palestine and the distinctive character of East Jerusalem” and reaffirmed that all legal and administrative decisions taken by Israel concerning the status of the Holy City were “null and void and must be rescinded forthwith”.

The resolution, which is renewed periodically, passed with 22 votes for and 10 against with 23 abstentions and three absentees out of 58 member states.

Israel regards all of Jerusalem, including the predominantly Arab east captured and annexed in 1967 as its “indivisible capital” – a claim not recognised internationally.

The Western Wall is part of the compound revered by Jews as Temple Mount, the site of two biblical Jewish temples and the most sacred site in Judaism. Muslims, who refer to the site as the Noble Sanctuary, regard it as their third holiest place, home to al-Aqsa mosque – a flashpoint of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – and the Dome of the Rock shrine.

Under a long-standing arrangement, reflecting religious and political sensitivities and security concerns, Israel bars Jewish prayer at the holy site.

Palestinians want the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip for a future state with East Jerusalem as its capital.