Israeli Minister Calls to Shut UNESCO's Jerusalem Office After Contentious Vote

"Israeli Minister of Culture and Sport Miri Regev is expected to demand that the offices of the UN's cultural body in Jerusalem be shut following a controversial resolution passed on Tuesday denying Israeli claims to Jerusalem.

Regev, of the ruling Likud party, will present her demand on Wednesday at a cabinet meeting, Channel 2 reported Tuesday, hours after the resolution on 'Occupied Palestine' was submitted to UNESCO's Executive Board by Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar and Sudan, and referred to Israel as the 'occupying power' when discussing Jerusalem, indicating that it has no legal or historical ties to any part of the city.

The resolution passed with 22 votes in favor, 23 abstentions, 10 opposed, and representatives of three countries absent.

Regev said that Israel has had sovereignty in Jerusalem for 50 years and that there was no need 'for observers from the likes of the UN' in the Israeli capital.

UNESCO maintains an office at the UN headquarters in the Armon Hanatziv neighborhood in Jerusalem alongside the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) and the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nickolay Mladenov.

The building was leased to the UN in 1967 to monitor the ceasefire between Israel and its Arab neighbors following the Six Day War.

Regev said the site should be re-claimed by Israel and claimed that she would 'turn to the Foreign Ministry and to other relevant authorities in order to return [the compound at] Armon Hanatziv [to Israel] for state use,' Channel 2 quoted her as saying..."