The Palestinian flag was raised for the first time Tuesday above a UN agency, the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, in a diplomatic victory won despite stiff resistance from the US and Israel. President Mahmud Abbas attended the event, just weeks after Palestine won admission to the UN cultural, education and science agency in a move that sparked fury and reprisals from Washington and Israel. UNESCO says the flag-hoisting is a symbolic ceremony “to mark Palestine’s admission to the organisation” that takes place each time a new member joins.
The Palestinians were admitted to the body in late October, when the UNESCO general assembly voted 107-14 to make Palestine its 195th member. The result angered the United States, Israel’s staunch ally, which says the Palestinians must first reach a peace agreement with Israel before they can become full members of an international organization. US President Barack Obama said he had frank and firm words with his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy, voicing Washington’s disappointment because Paris had supported the Palestinian UNESCO bid.
UNESCO membership has had no impact on the Palestinians’ bid for full UN membership. They would need nine votes out of 15 in the Security Council, but the United States has made clear that it would veto the bid. Meanwhile, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said Tuesday UNESCO’s admission of Palestine was a key first recognition that he hoped others will follow, as the Palestinian flag was raised at the agency’s offices. “This admission is a first recognition of Palestine,” Abbas said at the flag-raising ceremony.
“It is moving to see our flag raised today at a UN agency. I hope that this will be a good omen for Palestine’s admission to other international organisations,” he said. “Our admission is a source of pride. Palestine, the land where civilisations met… is having a new rebirth,” Abbas said.“Today we are members of UNESCO and we hope we can have an independent state, living side-by-side with Israel in a spirit of peace,” he said. At the ceremony, UNESCO chief Irina Bokova welcomed Palestine to the agency and said she hoped its admission would be a step toward peace with Israel. “A solution with two states living in peace and security has been long-awaited,” she said. “I want to believe that this admission to UNESCO is a chance to show that peace is also built through education and culture.”
