UNESCO recently allowed Palestine to participate in the organization as a state. This undermines the ability for Israel and Palestine to negotiate the peaceful handover of the occupied territories. Furthermore, this move is intended to gain momentum for Palestine's bid for statehood in the UN, which would bypass any efforts to resolve the problems currently plaguing the region. Despite the many human rights violations perpetrated by Israel, Palestine has shown they are not willing to stop the violence either. Finally, the US needs to make budget cuts and we currently provide $80M to UNESCO annually. We should not allow them to force the issue of a hasty and ill-prepared Palestinian state while paying them to do so.



