Israeli envoy wants to rethink withdrawal from UN agency

Israel's ambassador to the United Nations' cultural agency has said he will recommend that his government reconsider leaving UNESCO or at least postpone the departure set for the end of the year.

Ambassador Carmel Shama Hacohen's remarks yesterday came hours after UNESCO's World Heritage Committee agreed at its meeting in Bahrain to put off for a year controversial resolutions on the Old City of Jerusalem and the West Bank town of Hebron.

The United States, quickly followed by Israel, decided last year to leave the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. The withdrawal process requires a year, and both exits are scheduled to take effect on December 31.

An alleged anti-Israel bias at UNESCO, where the Jewish state and its allies are far outnumbered by Arab countries and their supporters, was among the reasons the counties cited.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling UNESCO a "theatre of the absurd" that allegedly distorted history instead of preserving it.

The committee agreeing to do nothing with the pair of resolutions for one year was seen as a victory for UNESCO. The UN's cultural and educational arm has become a forum for bitter political spats between Israelis and Palestinians, jeopardising its credibility and work. Palestine became a member of the organization in 2011.

Other sensitive resolutions were postponed in April.

Hacohen, who wasn't in Bahrain for the committee meeting, said by telephone Tuesday that he would "recommend at least to reconsider our decision" to withdraw. Another option would be to postpone the departure date, he said.

"I'm not sure that it will be enough and change dramatically the decisions" because the topics of Jerusalem and UNESCO have become so sensitive in Israel, he said. "We still have to work on it."