Israel, Palestinians Battle for Votes over UNESCO Resolution Denying Israeli Sovereignty over Jerusalem

"Israel is battling to prevent a public-relations victory for the Palestinians at the UNESCO Executive Board in Paris, which is expected to disavow Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem on Independence Day...

The United States, one of the 58 UNESCO Executive Board members, is expected to oppose the resolution. The Palestinians have an automatic majority on the board, but the PA and Israel are battling for the support of the 11 EU member states. Their votes have come to represent a 'moral' political victory.

Israel's struggle for European support has been made more difficult because the text – submitted by Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar and Sudan – is less egregious by Israeli standards than past documents.

A March draft asked the board to deny Israel sovereignty over all of Jerusalem, including the western part of the city.

The resolution's text stated: 'Any action taken by Israel, the occupying power, to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the city of Jerusalem are illegal and therefore null and void and have no validity whatsoever.'

This week in Paris, according to diplomatic sources, European diplomats, led by Germany, met with Arab state representatives to amend the text even further so that EU states could either abstain or support the document..."