Israel weighs next move after UNESCOvote for Palestinian membership

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JERUSALEM, Nov 1 (AFP): Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his inner cabinet Tuesday to weigh a response, including possible punitive measures, to UNESCO's decision to admit Palestine as a full member. Israeli media reported that the so-called Forum of Eight would meet Tuesday afternoon to discuss the best way to respond to Monday's UNESCO vote, which handed the Palestinians a key diplomatic victory and angered Israel. "We will look at how we will respond to this vote," a senior Israeli official told. The Palestinian bid for UNESCO membership, which comes as the Palestinians also seek to become a United Nations member state, was approved despite strong opposition from the United States and Israel. The vote will cost the organisation its US funding, which makes up 22 percent of its budget, because US law requires Washington to cut funds to any UN organisation that admits Palestine as a full member. Both Washington and Israel had lobbied the organisation to delay the vote, with the Jewish state warning that the membership bid was unilateral and would jeopardise the chances of reviving negotiations. Israel's foreign ministry condemned what it called a "unilateral Palestinian manoeuvre which will bring no change on the ground but further removes the possibility for a peace agreement."Netanyahu also condemned the Palestinian bid Monday, describing it as an attempt to seek "a state without a deal.