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After UNESCO vote, Israel cuts another $1m from UN budget
[IsraelTimes] Jerusalem now to pay only $2.7m out of a required $11.7m, but officials unconcerned Israel could lose right to vote at UN bodies.Israel said Wednesday it would further reduce the amount it pays annually to the United Nations ...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships... in retaliation for the latest resolution critical of its policies. One day after the UN’s cultural agency passed a resolution disputing Israel’s claim to Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would cut another $1 million from its payments to the UN, bringing the total cuts since December 2016 to $9 million. "This systematic harassment has a price," Netanyahu said at the beginning of the weekly cabinet meeting, referring to the UNESCO resolution, which calls Israel an "occupying power" in Jerusalem and criticizes the government for archaeological projects in the capital and in Hebron and lambasts its naval blockade of the Gazoo strip. "In the wake of the resolution, I have instructed Foreign Ministry Director-General Yuval Rotem to deduct $1 million from the funds that Israel transfers to the UN. Israel will not sit by while the organization calls for the denial of our illusory sovereignty in Jerusalem," he said. Netanyahu’s statement marks the third time in less than a year that Israel has reacted to UN resolutions it deems biased against it by announcing the slashing of its payments to the body. In December, after the Security Council passed Resolution 2334, Netanyahu ordered $6 million cut from Israel’s payment to the UN. And in March, after the Human Rights Council passed five anti-Israel resolutions, Netanyahu vowed to cut an additional $2 million. "This considerable sum, almost NIS 40 million, will be transferred to the Foreign Ministry, which is doing exceptional work," he said at the time. "They will use it to develop our relations with countries that want to be close to Israel and are cultivating friendship with it." The General Assembly requires all 193 UN member states to pay a percentage of the United Nations’ regular budget, based on their GDP. According to the UN Secretariat, Israel is expected to pay $11.7 million this year, or 0.43 percent of the regular budget. Under Article 19 of the UN Charter, any country in arrears of its dues payments in an amount that equals or exceeds the contributions due for two preceding years can lose its vote in the General Assembly. After three rounds of cuts, Israel will pay only $2.7 million. However, the hip bone's connected to the leg bone... Israeli officials said there is no need to worry about Israel losing its voting rights. "We’re not there yet, not at all," one bigwig said, speaking on condition of anonymity ... for fear of being murdered... UNESCO’s Executive Board on Tuesday -- Israel’s Independence Day -- passed the resolution with 22 countries in favor, 23 abstentions, 10 opposed, and the representatives of three countries absent. We are working constantly to increase support for Israel in international bodies in order to reflect our growing status vis-à-vis bilateral contacts with countries," Netanyahu said. "We are also working constantly to reduce, and I hope one day to cancel altogether, the UN theater of the absurd regarding the State of Israel." New Zealand reaches out to Israel to restore ties [IsraelTimes] Newly appointed foreign minister seeks to reset relationship broken off after Wellington sponsored anti-Israel UN resolution last December. Netanyahu was angry at New Zealand’s involvement in the UN resolution, which passed unanimously. The Israeli prime minister called then-Foreign Minister Murray McCully and reportedly threatened to interpret New Zealand’s sponsorship as a "declaration of war." He also leveled diplomatic sanctions at other countries that supported the measure, including canceling meetings and recalling ambassadors. Posted by: trailing wife 2017-05-04 |
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