Senior Israeli diplomat: Israel has been accepted as newest member of OECD

Israeli diplomat: Israel admitted to OECD

JERUSALEM — A senior Israeli diplomat says the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has admitted Israel as its newest member after years of Palestinian objections.

Uri Gutman of the Israeli Foreign Ministry says he has been informed that the 31-member, Paris-based organization has voted in favor of Israel’s membership. He says a formal announcement is expected at the group’s Paris headquarters later Monday.

Palestinian officials had lobbied against Israel’s membership. Opponents argue that Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and discriminatory treatment of its own Arab citizens put the country at odds with the OECD’s commitment to human rights.

Gutman says the approval is confirmation of Israel’s economic accomplishments.