Israel to expedite settlement construction after UNESCO vote

ERUSALEM (BNO NEWS) — Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has ordered that the construction of 2,000 housing units in the West Bank and East Jerusalem be accelerated, the Prime Minister’s office said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today (Tuesday) directed that the construction of apartments in Jerusalem, in the Etzion Bloc and in Maaleh Adumim, be accelerated,” the statement said. “These are thousands of residential units, in areas that will, under any future agreement, remain part of Israel.”

The decision came after Netanyahu convened a meeting with eight ministers to discuss possible sanctions against the Palestinian National Authority in response to its membership of the United Nations cultural agency UNESCO. The ministers also decided to suspend the transfer of tax money which Israel collected for the Palestinian Authority in October.

Moreover, the eight ministers also decided not to allow any UNESCO missions into Israel and to examine the possibility of revoking the VIP status of senior Palestinian officials which allows them to pass through checkpoints.

On Monday, the U.S. government announced it has been forced to cut all funding to UNESCO after it voted to grant full membership to Palestine. The motion to admit the Palestinians was passed at a UNESCO meeting in Paris with 107 votes in favor of admission, 14 votes against and 52 abstentions.

Admission to UNESCO for states which are not members of the United Nations requires a recommendation by the organization’s executive committee and a two thirds majority vote in favor by member states. Abstentions are not considered to be votes and no member state has veto powers.

Among the countries which voted against admission were Israel, the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, Australia and Germany. Brazil, Russia, China, India, South Africa, Belgium and France were among the countries which voted in favor while the United Kingdom, Italy and Japan were among those who abstained.

Before Palestine will become a full member, it must sign and ratify UNESCO’s constitution which is open for signature in the archives of the British government in London. Upon signature, Palestine will become UNESCO’s 195th member state.

The move to admit Palestine to UNESCO is part of a broader campaign by Palestine to get recognition as a state by the United Nations. On September 23, Palestine filed a request for a full UN membership even though the United States is likely to veto this.

About 120 out of 193 countries have currently recognized the State of Palestine and those are seen as possible supporters if the UN General Assembly votes on the issue. If the UN Security Council resolution to recognize Palestine is approved, Palestine would become the 194th member of the United Nations.

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