MIDEAST: Israel says it will freeze its funding to UNESCO following the group's decision to grant Palestine full membership

Record ID: 397298

  • Title: MIDEAST: Israel says it will freeze its funding to UNESCO following the group's decision to grant Palestine full membership
  • Date: 4th November 2011
  • Summary: HAIFA, ISRAEL (FILE - JULY 9, 2008) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) UNESCO HERITAGE SITE OF BAHAI GARDENS FLOWER ARRANGEMENT IN FORMATION OF A STAR AND DOME OF THE BAHAI MAUSOLEUM DOME OF MAUSOLEUM BUILDING FLOWERS IN LANDSCAPING IN THE SHAPE OF A STAR / BUILDING AND FLOWERS
  • Embargoed: 19th November 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Israel
  • Country: Israel
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA81LFNL9JGJ170H64IN1I8EVST
  • Story Text: Israel said on Thursday (November 3) it would freeze its funding to the United Nations cultural agency UNESCO following the group's decision to grant the Palestinians full membership.
    A statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said UNESCO's decision this week damaged chances of reaching a peace deal with the Palestinians and that Israel would halt its annual payments of $2 million.
    "Government budgets that were earmarked for UNESCO will now go to support projects, regional projects, Middle East projects, designed to encourage cooperation in science, culture and education. These projects will bolster peace and not undermine peace as done the recent decision by UNESCO," Israeli Prime Minister's spokesman Mark Regev told reporters in Jerusalem.
    Israel's main ally, the United States, has also stopped its financing, which accounts for 22 percent of the agency's funds.
    Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-malki referred to the American move in a news conference in Ramallah.
    "We never felt that we are really responsible for this blackmail by the U.S administration really to cut funds on such agencies. We should not re-take the blame for that, the blame should be taken by the American side, who has really decided, just you know, to cut the funding, not us," Al-malki said.
    The UNESCO vote on Monday (October 31) was a diplomatic victory for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who in the absence of peace talks has pushed for recognition of a Palestinian state at the United Nations, a move opposed by Israel and the United States.
    A day after the vote, Israel announced it would speed up the building of some 2,000 housing units in the occupied West Bank and around Jerusalem, and freeze tax transfers to Abbas's Palestinian Authority.
    Netanyahu has called on Abbas to return without preconditions to peace negotiations that collapsed over a year ago in a dispute over Jewish settlement. Abbas says Israel must first freeze settlement activity.
    The Palestinians are looking to establish a state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, territories Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East War.
    Israel later annexed East Jerusalem, a move that has not won international recognition. It withdrew from Gaza in 2005, and in 2007 the territory was taken over by Hamas Islamists, who are rivals to Western-backed Abbas and refuse to recognise Israel.
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