(AP) Mohammed Daraghmeh and Josef Federman - Emboldened by their admission to the UN's cultural agency, the Palestinians plan to seek membership in other international bodies as part of their campaign for statehood. Ibrahim Khraishi, the Palestinian envoy to the UN in Geneva, said the Palestinians are now studying whether they can join 16 other UN agencies. Officials believe the Palestinians could join the World Trade Organization, the World Health Organization, the World Intellectual Property Organization, the World Bank and the International Criminal Court. In Jerusalem, Yigal Palmor, spokesman for Israel's Foreign Ministry, said the Palestinian strategy could cause grave damage to the workings of the UN by trying to "hijack" any agencies they join to press an anti-Israel agenda. He warned the Palestinian effort would be a "dismal omen" for direct negotiations because the ability to accomplish their goals through UN votes would eliminate the incentive for Palestinians to engage in peace talks.
2011-11-02 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive