Palestinian Authority hails UNESCO's anti-Israel resolution

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The text denounced actions taken by "Israel, the occupying power.to alter the character and status of the holy city of Jerusalem" and criticized the country's annexation of Jerusalem in 1967 - a move never internationally recognized.

The Israeli premier also noted that he had ordered the Foreign Ministry to "cut an additional $1 million from the money Israel transfers to the United Nations".

Pence added: "Even now we're making valuable progress toward the noble goal of peace".

Regev said that the offices should be reclaimed by Israel.

23 countries abstained from the vote including France, Spain, Slovenia and Estonia, while the United States, Italy, Great Britain, Holland, Lithuania and Greece voted against it.

"UNESCO rejects Israel's measures and occupation of East Jerusalem in milestone resolution adopted with significant majority".

He singled out the United States for voting against the resolution; in December as one of the Obama administration's last acts, the USA abstained from a U.N. Security Council resolution which condemned Israeli settlements.

The United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization on Tuesday passed a resolution demanding that Israel disavow Jerusalem as its capital.

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Palestinian Foreign Minister, Riyad al-Malki, welcomed the UNESCO decision on Tuesday.

Sweden was the only European Union country to vote in favor of the resolution, which passed in a 22-10 vote, with 26 countries either abstaining or not registering a voting decision.

The resolution, which has softer wording than another UNESCO decision previous year, also criticises Israel for its blockade on the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.

"This cynical move must be recognized for what it is: a distorted, risky and illegitimate revision of history, which serves only as bait for adversaries of Israel seeking to strip the Jewish people's right to self-determination and deny its historic and religious link to Jerusalem".

The result marked an improvement for Israel, which has previously found itself with little global support besides the Unites States.

The occupied Palestinian territories have witnessed new tensions ever since Israeli forces introduced restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshipers into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem al-Quds in August 2015.

Israel will cut another $1 million dollars in funding to the UN, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced at a cabinet meeting Wednesday morning following the passage of a UNESCO resolution critical of Israeli policy a day earlier.

The Tel Aviv regime has tried to change the demographic makeup of Jerusalem al-Quds over the past decades by constructing settlements, destroying historical sites, and expelling the local Palestinian population.