Amid ongoing destruction in Gaza, Armenia has announced that endangered elements of Palestinian cultural heritage will be temporarily safeguarded at the Matenadaran, the country’s renowned repository of ancient manuscripts.
The announcement was made by Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanyan during a high-level UN conference on the Palestinian issue, jointly chaired by France and Saudi Arabia. The conference focused on advancing a two-state solution as the foundation for long-term peace in the region.
The initiative comes against the backdrop of what Armenia has described as a “genocide” carried out by Israel in Gaza. The ongoing military campaign has resulted in widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure, a death toll exceeding 35,000—many of them women and children—and the obliteration of cultural landmarks. Severe shortages of food, medicine, and humanitarian aid have compounded the crisis, forcing mass displacement and threatening the survival of Palestinian identity and heritage.
According to Kostanyan, the preservation of cultural artifacts is both a humanitarian obligation and an act of cultural solidarity. “Armenia’s decision to shelter Palestinian heritage is a contribution to the preservation of identity under threat,” he said.
The Matenadaran, located in Yerevan, is one of the world’s oldest and most significant centers for the study and preservation of ancient manuscripts and cultural artifacts. It will temporarily house endangered Palestinian items, providing them protection until they can be safely returned.
This move also highlights the international community’s limited response to similar threats faced by Armenian cultural heritage during the 2022–2023 blockade of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) by Azerbaijan. For nine months, approximately 120,000 ethnic Armenians were cut off from essential supplies due to the closure of the Berdzor (Lachin) Corridor. The blockade resulted in mass displacement, starvation, and the destruction of infrastructure—yet efforts to save Artsakh’s cultural treasures were largely informal and under-resourced.
During that period, local museum staff, private citizens, and volunteers worked to rescue cultural artifacts, often evacuating only what they could carry. No international mission was launched to safeguard the region’s heritage. Since the forced exodus in September 2023, concerns have mounted over Azerbaijan’s ongoing efforts to erase Armenian cultural identity from Artsakh.
