Updated

Israel has lashed out at the U.N. cultural agency over a resolution criticizing its excavations in and around Jerusalem's Old City, which contains sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims.

The UNESCO resolution, tabled by several Arab countries and approved on Tuesday, calls on Israel, as the "occupying Power," to cease "persistent excavations, tunneling, works and projects in East Jerusalem," which the Palestinians want as the capital of their future state.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there is no people other than the Jews "for whom Jerusalem is so holy and important."

Israel captured east Jerusalem, including the Old City, during the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it in a move not recognized by the international community.