The United States said on Monday that it had stopped funding UNESCO, the UN cultural agency, following its vote to grant the Palestinians full membership. On Monday, UNESCO admitted Palestine as a full member in a highly divisive bid that opponents say could harm renewed peace efforts. US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters the United States had no choice but to halt funding because of longstanding US law, saying Washington would not make a planned US$60 million transfer that was due in November. The UNESCO board decided on 6 October to allow the 193 member states to vote on the Palestinians' application for full admission – a bid signaling new Palestinian determination to ignore pressure from Washington, one of the Palestinian Authority's main donors, but also Israel's most important ally. UNESCO is the first UN agency the Palestinians have sought to join as a full member since applying for full membership of the United Nations on 23 September. The bid for a full UN seat, which can be granted only by the Security Council, is destined to fail because of opposition from Washington, which has a veto in the forum.
