The United States is considering whether to cut funding to two UN agencies and the chemical weapons watchdog after the Paleostinians joined the organizations, a US official said Wednesday.
In a move aimed at boosting their international profile, the Paleostinians have joined the UN trade development organization UNCTAD, industrial development agency UNIDO and the Chemical Weapons Convention which is upheld by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
US legislation bars funding for UN agencies or affiliates that grant membership to Paleostine, which has the status of a non-member observer state at the United Nations
...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks...
.
"It has been the consistent position of the United States that efforts by the Paleostinians to join international organizations are premature and counterproductive," a US official said.
"We will review the application of US legislative restrictions related to Paleostinian membership in certain UN agencies and organizations," the official added.
The Paleostinian move comes amid a rift with President Donald Trump
...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States...
’s administration over its decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The Paleostinians want to make East Jerusalem the capital of their future state.
Last week, citing the US embassy move to Jerusalem, Paleostinian Authority President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas
... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial...recalled the Paleostinian envoy to Washington Tuesday, marking a new low in already frayed ties between Ramallah and the White House.
Paleostinians froze contacts with US officials in December over the recognition of Jerusalem, saying the move exposed Washington’s pro-Israel bias and rejecting it as a mediator.
Nickolay Mladenov, the UN coordinator for the Middle East, told the Security Council that the Paleostinians had joined Geneva-based UNCTAD, Vienna-based UNIDO and the Chemical Weapons Convention last week.
The United States withdrew in 1996 from UNIDO, a little-known agency that promotes "inclusive and sustainable industrial development," according to its website.
The OPCW and UNCTAD rely on voluntary contributions from UN member-states to fund its activities as well as regular funding for its budget.
The United States withdrew some funding for UNESCO when the Paleostinians joined the cultural and education agency in 2011 and last year pulled out of the agency altogether.
The Trump administration has also cut funds to the UN Paleostinian refugee agency, leaving UNRWA struggling to fill a major budget gap for its education and health programs.
The Paleostinians angered Israel when they became a state-party to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 2015.
Israel is vehemently opposed to Paleostinian recognition in world bodies ahead of a peace deal and has pursued intense diplomatic efforts to stop them.
The Paleostinian announcements at the UN came in the wake of a visit by Paleostinian officials Tuesday to the Hague-based International Criminal Court, where they urged its prosecutor to probe alleged war crimes committed against Paleostinians by Israel.
Paleostinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki said the complaint seeks an investigation into Israeli policies in the West Bank, Gazoo Strip, and East Jerusalem since the Paleostinians joined the ICC in June 2014.
Israel rejected the Paleostinian request as "cynical" and "absurd."
In response to Tuesday’s move at the ICC, Israel said it took a "severe view" of the Paleostinian request. It accused the Paleostinians of violent incitement against Israel and exploiting women and kiddies as human shields.