Israel has officially submitted its withdrawal notice to the U.N. cultural agency, UNESCO chief Audrey Azoulay confirmed on Friday, adding that she deeply regretted the country's decision.
Azoulay said that she was convinced that the disagreements that led to Israel's decision to leave December 31, 2018, could best be solved from within the Paris-based organisation.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had announced in October that Israel would pull out of UNESCO after a decision by President Donald Trump to withdraw the U.S. due to the U.N. organzation's alleged "anti-Israel bias."
The United States had stopped its payments to the U.N. agency already in 2011, in response to Palestine being granted full membership.
Israel has complained about a succession of UNESCO motions on Jerusalem that did not take into account Jewish links to the city.
