With UNESCO membership granted, Palestinians seek to join 16 more UN agencies

After being granted full membership at the United Nations' cultural agency UNESCO, the Palestinian Authority is seeking to become a member of the World Health Organization and of 15 smaller UN agencies. The forum of eight senior Israeli government ministers will convene later on Tuesday to discuss Israel's response to the matter.

A source at the foreign ministry said that the Palestinian Health Minister, Fathi Abu Moghli, was sent last week by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to meet with the chief of the WHO office in the West Bank, and updated him on the Palestinians' intention to apply for full membership in the organization.

Meanwhile, Ibrahim Khraishi, the top Palestinian envoy at the UN in Geneva, told the Associated Press on Tuesday about the Palestinian bid to become members of additional organizations.

"Now we are studying when we are going to move for full membership on the other UN agencies," Khraishi said. "It's our target for (us to join) the international organizations and the UN agencies."

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/with-unesco-membership-granted-palestinians-seek-to-join-16-more-un-agencies-1.393134

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene a meeting with his eight senior ministers on Tuesday to discuss the possibility of imposing sanctions on the Palestinian Authority after it was granted full membership from UNESCO.

According to a senior Israeli official, it is still unclear whether a decision will be reached on Tuesday, but various proposals aimed at taking punitive measures against the Palestinians are expected.

Among the ideas are cancelling the VIP status of senior Palestinian officials which enables them to cross through Israeli checkpoints, increasing settlement construction, and halting the transfer of tax money which Israel collects for the Palestinian Authority.

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The United States, Canada and Germany voted against Palestinian membership. Brazil, Russia, China, India, South Africa and France voted in favor. Britain abstained.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-to-mull-sanctions-on-palestinian-authority-following-unesco-vote-1.393029

Israel rejects the decision of the General Assembly of UNESCO to grant the Palestinians full membership of the organization, the Foreign Ministry said Monday, and warned that Israel will now reconsider its future cooperation with the body.

UNESCO is the first UN agency the Palestinians have sought to join as a full member since Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas applied for full membership of the United Nations on Sept. 23.

In a statement issued Monday, the Foreign Ministry vehemently condemned the move, saying it is merely a symbolic gesture which hinders Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

"This is a unilateral Palestinian maneuver which will bring no change on the ground but further removes the possibility for a peace agreement," the Foreign Ministry statement read.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-to-reconsider-cooperation-with-unesco-after-approval-of-palestine-membership-1.392983

and as someone else pointed out right now Iran is praying let it be the IAEA......