Israeli political sources accused the British government of putting obstacles in the Jewish state’s path to join the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). A vote will be held on Tel Aviv’s membership of the OECD by the beginning of the next year, 2010.
The Hebrew radio reported that the sources said that: “Britain is insisting that Israel must provide the OECD with data pertaining to lands within the Green Line only.”
“Israel fears that UK’s position, in addition to New Zealand and Norway’s objection, would hamper its efforts to join the OECD, especially as each member has the right of veto,” it added.
The British Foreign Office announced that the statistics provided by the Israeli side “should reflect its legal limits, which do not include the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights,” and added that “the government in London has not yet determined its position on Israel’s accession to this organization.”
Source: Quds Press