OECD Ignores Palestinians, Welcomes Israel

The OECD has brushed aside its "human rights and free trade" principles in favour of allowing Israel to become a full member of the group. BBCNews reports:

Members of the group of rich nations, the OECD, have voted unanimously to invite Israel to join, despite Palestinian objections.

Joining the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development is thought likely to boost Israel's economic standing and help attract investment.

But Palestinians say Israeli actions in the occupied West Bank contradict OECD values on human rights and free trade.

The 31-member OECD said Slovenia and Estonia would also be invited to join.

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Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz hailed the move as "historic".

It is "a historic success... because it gives legitimacy to Israel as an advanced and developed country," he told public radio.

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The Palestinian Authority's foreign ministry had written to OECD member states, urging them to vote to delay inviting Israel.

"Accepting Israel means giving legitimacy to its policies and accepting its aggressive and racist practices against the Palestinian people," the letter signed by Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said.

"We view this as very serious and dangerous, because it helps Israel continue to take control of the Palestinian lands and economy, including East Jerusalem and the settlements in the West Bank" the letter said.

It said checkpoints and other restrictions in the West Bank, which Israel says are for security, were harming Palestinian economic development and contrary to OECD principles of free trade.

Palestinian campaign groups have also said the OECD did not pay enough attention to Israel's human rights record during the application process.

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A unanimous vote was required for Israel to join.

Switzerland, Ireland and Norway had expressed reservations in connection with Israel's inclusion of figures from settlements in the West Bank - illegal under international law - in the data supporting its membership application, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported.

Israel is set to become one of the organisation's poorest members.

Previous OECD reports have said it lags behind other developed countries in education standards and levels of poverty and inequality - particularly among its ultra-orthodox Jewish communities and the Israeli-Arab minority.

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