Palestinian UNESCO membership dominates dailies

Palestine’s full membership in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) dominated Tuesday’s issues of the three Palestinian Arabic newspapers. “The worlddefies the US: Palestine becomes full member in UNESCO” was the main headline in al-Ayyam daily, reporting that the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris adopted the draft resolution of its executive board to grant Palestine full membership in the organization on Monday. Al-Hayat al-Jadida and al-Ayyam printed pictures of the standing ovation in the UNESCO General Conference that followed the announcement of the Palestinian membership. In a related matter, al-Quds newspaper featured the US decision to cut $60 million in funds for UNESCO, after its granting Palestine full membership. The situation in Gaza continues to make it to the front pages as two Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes on the Strip Monday morning, in addition to reports on Israeli military reinforcements heading to the borders with Gaza. Al-Quds editorial tackled the ramifications of the historical decision to grant Palestine full UNESCO membership on Monday despite US pressures against it. The newspaper also addressed the lost role of Arab wealth in funding international organizations such as UNESCO, especially after the US decision to cut funds to UNESCO as a form of punishment for granting Palestine membership.