The Syrian archaeological researcher Dr. Khaled Kiwan ranked first in an international research competition organized by the General Authority for Youth and Culture in Gaza and the Strategic Initiative Center Palestine – Malaysia under the title “Arab and Islamic Efforts to Serve Jerusalem” which its results were announced Thursday.

The competition, which was announced last April, aims to highlight the official and popular efforts of Arab and Islamic states in serving the cause of Jerusalem through research and study, and work to draw attention to the dangers looming over this city, and through raising awareness of the importance of scientific research in investigations related to the Palestinian cause, and enhancing Palestinian, Islamic and Arab national belonging and feeling towards the issue of Jerusalem.

The competition witnessed the participation of 53 research in Arabic and English, presented by researchers from Palestine, Egypt, Algeria, Syria, Morocco, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Yemen and Iraq.

The competition covers “political and legal”, “scientific, cultural and historical”, “media”, “social and popular” and “civil and non-governmental organizations”. It was selected and evaluated according to high quality standards.