A group of Arab countries headed by Jordan and the Palestinian Authority have backtracked on their intention to present resolutions critical of Israel’s policies in east Jerusalem the West Bank and the Gaza Strip at the UNESCO executive board session in Paris this week.
According to Haaretz newspaper this would be the first time since April 2013 that resolutions were not presented on the Israeli-Palestinian issue.
A senior Israeli official in the foreign ministry said the decision to withdraw the resolutions was made following quiet diplomatic talks last week between the UNESCO committee chairman Michael Worbs and the Israeli and Jordanian ambassadors at the organization.
The senior official said a number of Western countries were also involved in the talks primarily the US adding that US president Donald Trump’s adviser on Israel Jason Greenblatt was personally involved.
The understandings reached included a decision that instead of holding a vote on two resolutions on east Jerusalem and the status of occupied Palestine which were submitted by Arab countries and whose wording was identical to that of resolutions passed six months ago Worbs would submit two proposals to delay the vote by six months.
Worbs’s proposals are expected to be accepted by consensus by all 56 countries that are members of UNESCO’s executive board according to the foreign ministry official who also affirmed that Israel had not pledged anything in exchange.
The Israeli official added that together with talks on postponing the vote Israel had worked with ambassadors of the member states in Paris as well as in the capitals of the relevant countries to ensure that the group of countries voting against such anti-Israel resolutions would grow.
