RAMALLAH, May 10 (JMCC) -
Israel
has apparently passed the final stage of selection to become a member of the Organization fo Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reports
Ynet. The result comes at the end of the final hearing, held in Paris, which questioned Israel’s approach to tackling bribery and corruption in the public sector.
Formal notification of Israel’s acceptance to the OECD is expected in the coming days says
Ynet. This comes as a disappointment to the
Palestinian
Authority who had been seeking to curtail Israel’s bid to join the OECD by calling on its members to delay Monday’s vote.
Palestinian Foreign Minister
Riyad al-Malki had urged member states to do so on the grounds that Israeli infringements of Palestinian human rights violate OECD values. Israel waged a last minute diplomatic effort ahead of the meeting with the OECD council to stop the effect of the allegations.
Initially, it seemed that Malki’s lobbying might stall the process. Haaretz reports that three OECD members – Switzerland, Ireland and Norway – expressed reservations about Israel’s application. These nations questioned Israel’s treatment of settlements as part of the same economic entity.
Had any of these countries voted against the application Israel would not have been allowed entry to the OECD. Rules state that acceptance of an application has to be unanimous among all thirty member states.