Israel freezes UESCO funding over Palestine

PanARMENIAN.Net - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered his country Thursday, Nov 3 to freeze payments to the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization after that agency admitted the Palestinians as full members.

The move follows a U.S. decision to do the same.

Israel is withholding its contributions to UNESCO because it says accepting the Palestinians is detrimental to potential peace talks.

"Such steps will not advance peace; they will only push it further away," Netanyahu said. "The only way to reach peace is through direct negotiations without preconditions."

The prime minister ordered that the $2 million it gives UNESCO yearly be used to fund similar initiatives in the region.

The United States already had announced that it will withhold the $80 million it contributes annually.

The U.S. government opposes what it calls unilateral moves to establish a Palestinian state, saying such steps go against efforts to restart direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians on a two-state solution to their long-running conflict.

The vote by UNESCO was separate from a Palestinian bid for U.N. membership that remains under consideration by members of the Security Council, CNN reported.