Palestinians aim to join more UN agencies

RAMALLAH. November 1. KAZINFORM Following the overwhelming success of gaining full membership of the state of Palestine in the United Nations' cultural agency UNESCO on Monday, officials said Tuesday that the Palestinians are preparing to gain full membership in other organizations of the United Nations; Kazinform refers to China Daily.

A majority of 107 UNESCO members voted in favor of Palestine membership on Monday, while 14 members voted against and 52 abstained. Local newspapers in the Palestinian territories said " It is a great political and diplomatic victory."

Palestinians gained for the first time ever a full membership in the UN organization since Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had submitted in September 23 an official request to the UN Security Council for a full membership of the state of Palestine in the global organization.

"Winning a full membership in the UNESCO is not against anyone, it is to support justice and freedom," said Abbas in a first comment after the vote. Meanwhile, Reyad al-Malki, the Palestinian minister of foreign affairs, called it "the beginning of a long and difficult road that will lead to liberty."

The membership in the UNESCO will pave the way for the Palestinians to apply to other UN organizations and eventually gain a full membership, and will also help the Palestinians to gain a recognition of the International Heritage Center and register sites in the occupied territories.

Palestinian officials said they have about 20 files related to holy sites in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel, including one of the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem. Ghassan al- Khatib, spokesman of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) said "UNESCO membership has two benefits."

"The first is the huge international support the Palestinians gained after becoming a UNESCO member and second is that the Palestinians from now and then would be able to protest and defend their cultural and historic sites, places and cities," said al- Khatib.

Al-Khatib meanwhile asserted that the Palestinians will soon carry out practical steps towards gaining the membership in the various UN organizations, adding that "being a member in the other international organizations would hurry up gaining the legitimate Palestinian rights."

Hana Amira, an official in Palestine Liberation Organization, told Voice of Palestine Radio that the membership in the UNESCO "would empower the Palestinian position in confronting Israel, mainly in the part related to the dispute on east Jerusalem"; Kazinform cites China Daily.

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