The US Congress threatens UNESCO
Senior members of the US Congress have threatened to cut off vital American funding to the UN's cultural arm after it came a step closer to extending full membership to the Palestinian Authority.
Overriding strenuous US objections, the executive board of UNESCO - the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation - overwhelming approve a motion to put a Palestinian application to join the agency before all its 194 members later this month.
Of the 58 states represented on the executive board, only the US, Germany, Latvia and Romania voted against. Signalling further divisions within the EU on the issue of Palestinian statehood, France, Italy and Spain ignored US pressure and abstained.
The vote sets UNESCO on a course of confrontation with the United States, which provides 22 per cent of its funding and is by far its biggest donor.
Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, called the decision "inexplicable" and called for it to be reversed. But much more seriously, influential members of Congress -- which dictates American funding of the UN and its constituent agencies -- threatened to withdraw America's contribution to UNESCO.
"I will advocate for all funding to be cut off," said Kay Granger, a Republican congresswoman from Texas who heads the subcommittee that disburses US funding to the UN and foreign states.
"This is constituent with current law and I will consider additional actions as needed. There are consequences for short-cutting the process, not only for the Palestinians, but for our longstanding relationship with the United Nations."
UNESCO has become an unlikely but important sideshow to the formal application for statehood the Palestinians have submitted to the UN Security Council. The United States has already said it will veto the bid, and Congress has punished the Palestinian Authority by freezing more than ÂĢ130 million in humanitarian assistance.
For the Palestinians, winning a seat at UNESCO would not be just a symbolic consolation prize. As a full member, the Palestinian Authority would be able to ask for the agency's formal protection of historical sites in the occupied West Bank and in East Jerusalem, including some that Israel has officially declared part of its national heritage. Sensitive sites include the Temple Mount, Rachel's Tomb and the Tomb of the Patriarchs.
Senior members of the US Congress have threatened to cut off vital American funding to the UN's cultural arm after it came a step closer to extending full membership to the Palestinian Authority.
Overriding strenuous US objections, the executive board of UNESCO - the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation - overwhelming approve a motion to put a Palestinian application to join the agency before all its 194 members later this month.
Of the 58 states represented on the executive board, only the US, Germany, Latvia and Romania voted against. Signalling further divisions within the EU on the issue of Palestinian statehood, France, Italy and Spain ignored US pressure and abstained.
The vote sets UNESCO on a course of confrontation with the United States, which provides 22 per cent of its funding and is by far its biggest donor.
Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, called the decision "inexplicable" and called for it to be reversed. But much more seriously, influential members of Congress -- which dictates American funding of the UN and its constituent agencies -- threatened to withdraw America's contribution to UNESCO.
"I will advocate for all funding to be cut off," said Kay Granger, a Republican congresswoman from Texas who heads the subcommittee that disburses US funding to the UN and foreign states.
"This is constituent with current law and I will consider additional actions as needed. There are consequences for short-cutting the process, not only for the Palestinians, but for our longstanding relationship with the United Nations."
UNESCO has become an unlikely but important sideshow to the formal application for statehood the Palestinians have submitted to the UN Security Council. The United States has already said it will veto the bid, and Congress has punished the Palestinian Authority by freezing more than ÂĢ130 million in humanitarian assistance.
For the Palestinians, winning a seat at UNESCO would not be just a symbolic consolation prize. As a full member, the Palestinian Authority would be able to ask for the agency's formal protection of historical sites in the occupied West Bank and in East Jerusalem, including some that Israel has officially declared part of its national heritage. Sensitive sites include the Temple Mount, Rachel's Tomb and the Tomb of the Patriarchs.