The United States government has cut off funds to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural organisation (UNESCO), following the agency's admission of Palestine as a full member.<br /><br />Washington's decision to withold $60m in funding, which is about one-quarter of UNESCO's annual budget, came after 107 out of 173 countries voted in favor of the Palestinian bid for statehood.<br /><br />Although UNESCO's membership marks a small victory for Palestinian officials, it could help them protect more than 20 monumental Palestinian cultural and religious sites. <br /><br />The US also condemned UNESCO's move, saying that it "undermines" the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians. <br /><br />Rosiland Jordan reports.
