Earlier, the Arab Member of Israeli Knesset (Parliament) Jamal Zahalka had called on the OECD not to accept Israel as one of its members.
Zahalka, also chairman of the Arab Balad party, had said in a letter to OECD secretary-general Angel Gurria that the "acceptance of Israel as a member in the organization will give legitimacy to Israel's occupation practices, violations of human and political rights and the apartheid system it (Israel) practices against the Arabs inside Israel."
He added that "Israel does not meet the OECD's precondition for its membership which requires the country's law be of democratic pluralism that reserves that rule of law and human rights."
"Israel confiscates lands, implements racial laws, increases poverty and unemployment in Arab towns and neglects unrecognized Arab villages," Zahalka said in the letter.
According to Zahalka, the siege on Gaza Strip and the collective punishment against Palestinians there, the continued occupation activities in the West Bank and the building of the separation wall contradict the values, principles and objectives the OECD adheres to.
The Palestinian Authority had also asked the organization not to accept Israel. Accepting Israel "would be like accepting its occupation of the Palestinian territories," the PA had said in a letter, which was posted on the PA website.
— With input from agencies
