On Monday, UNESCO's General Conference voted to admit Palestine as a member. The United States immediately announced that it would discontinue funding UNESCO. The U.S. contribution accounts for more than 20% of its budget. UNESCO will not receive the $60 million tranche due in November.
UNESCO won't rule on ownership of religious sites
The majority of the delegates applauded the decision of the General Conference. The resolution was backed by 107 countries, including Russia and France, and opposed by 14, including Sweden, the Czech Republic, Germany, Australia, Canada, the United States and Israel. Palestine's Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said that with this vote Palestine has gained part of its rights and taken its rightful place in the family of UNESCO nations. He added that this historic step will help preserve the cultural heritage of the entire world.
Palestine considers full membership in UNESCO a political victory, one more step towards becoming a fully-fledged state. But in reality, this is no more than a propaganda move. While UNESCO is a UN agency, it is engaged in education, science and culture, not politics. For now the state of Palestine exists only on paper.
Of course, having become a full UNESCO member, Palestine - or to be more exact, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) - can now submit for discussion such sensitive issues as the preservation of Muslim shrines in East Jerusalem (the mosques Al-Aqsa and Halif Omar) or Israel's construction of a protective wall along the borders with Palestine, which is opposed by a considerable part of the international community.
No doubt, Palestine's voice will be stronger than before, but unlike UN Security Council resolutions, UNESCO decisions are mere recommendations; they are not binding for UN member-states.
The virtual state of Palestine will not be able to resolve its key issue through UNESCO - the ownership of Muslim holy sites in East Jerusalem (Old City, the center of modern Jerusalem), the Christian shrines in Bethlehem and many more ancient monuments of history and culture on Palestinian territory.
For 60 years, East Jerusalem has been one of the main causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
As a result of the Arab-Israeli war of 1948, East Jerusalem was occupied and annexed by Transjordan (the old name for Jordan) and remained in Arab hands. But Israel occupied the land in the Six Day war of 1967. In 1980, Israel annexed it and proclaimed it "the eternal and indivisible capital of Israel."
Most countries, including the U.S.S.R., did not recognize East Jerusalem's annexation by either Transjordan or Israel. During the signing of a peace treaty with Israel in July 1994, King Hussein of Jordan gave up claims to East Jerusalem in favor of the future Palestinian state, but the Old city de facto remained under Israeli control.
"Science fiction"
Nimrod Barkan, Israel's ambassador to UNESCO, slammed countries that "have adopted a science fiction version of reality by admitting a non-existent state to the science organization.... UNESCO should deal in science not science fiction."
In his opinion, the issue of changing Palestine's status is not within UNESCO's competence at all; this is the prerogative of the UN Security Council. He said that UNESCO attempted to take a shortcut, but this move has dealt a blow to its prestige and sown the seeds of discord.
Russia: Talks with Israel still needed
After the voting at the UNESCO headquarters, Russian Envoy Gennady Gatilov said that Palestine's admission to UNESCO and its bid for UN membership are not an alternative to peace talks with Israel, which are essential for the formation of a fully-fledged state.
He said this was "an issue of principle, because the formation of a fully-fledged and territorially integral Palestinian state is only possible through these talks."
No U.S. money for UNESCO
The U.S. response to the decision of the UNESCO General Conference was the toughest of all. Victoria Nuland, a spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department, announced that Washington would cut off funding for UNESCO after the UN body supported Palestine's bid. However, the United States will maintain its membership in the organization.
The wealthy oil monarchies of the Persian Gulf could compensate for the heavy U.S. blow. Russian diplomats would not rule out the possibility that Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, would make up for what the United States will not pay for two years - 2011 and 2012.
Palestinian statehood is currently recognized by 131 countries, i.e. two thirds of all states, but this is not enough. Palestine's new status must be sanctioned by the UN Security Council. The United States has already declared that it will veto any decision to recognize a Palestinian state until the PNA reaches a peace deal with Israel. However, a deal is not likely in the near future.
The views expressed in this article are the author's and may not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.
