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The United States has formally notified the UN’s world heritage body UNESCO that it is withdrawing its membership of the organisation, citing “continuing anti-Israel bias” and “mounting arrears”, according to the Guardian.
Unesco’s director general, Irina Bokova, said she had received formal notification of withdrawal from the US secretary of state, Rex Tillerson.
The US state department said the decision also reflects US concerns with mounting arrears and the need for fundamental reform at the organisation.
UNESCO has drawn the ire of Israel and the Trump administration for a series of decisions, including the listing of Hebron, a city in the southern part of the occupied Palestinian territories, as a Palestinian world heritage site.
Israel has said it will join the US in pulling out of the UNESCO, praising the US decision as “brave and moral”.
