The United States has withdrawn from Unesco over what it claims is the organisation’s “continuing anti-Israel bias” – a move that has just been followed by Israel itself.

The US State Department recently announced its intention to withdraw from the UN’s cultural, scientific and educational organisation and become a permanent observer instead.

“This decision was not taken lightly, and reflects US concerns with mounting arrears at Unesco, the need for fundamental reform in the organisation, and continuing anti-Israel bias at Unesco,” the State Department said in a statement.

Nikki Haley, the US Ambassador to the UN, added that the organisation’s “extreme politicisation” has become “a chronic embarrassment”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signalled his approval, tweeting: “I welcome @realDonaldTrump’s decision to withdraw from Unesco ... I have instructed the Foreign Ministry to prepare Israel’s withdrawal from Unesco in parallel with the United States.”

The US hopes to remain a non-member observer state, in order to contribute US opinions and expertise on issues like press freedoms and protecting world heritage, according to the Department. The decision will take effect at the end of 2018.

New Unesco World Heritage Sites Show all 20 1 /20 New Unesco World Heritage Sites New Unesco World Heritage Sites Lake District The combined work of nature and human activity in the Lake District has produced a harmonious landscape in which the mountains are mirrored in the lakes. This landscape was greatly appreciated from the 18th century onwards by the Picturesque and later Romantic movements, which celebrated it in paintings, drawings and words. Nick Bodle New Unesco World Heritage Sites City of Yazd The City of Yazd is located in the middle of the Iranian plateau, close to the Spice and Silk Roads. The earthen architecture of Yazd has escaped the modernisation that destroyed many traditional earthen towns, retaining its traditional districts, the qanat system, traditional houses, bazars, hammams, mosques, synagogues, Zoroastrian temples and the historic garden of Dolat-abad. ICHHTO New Unesco World Heritage Sites Venetian Works of Defence The fortifications throughout the Stato da Terra protected the Republic of Venice from other European powers to the northwest and those of the Stato da Mar protected the sea routes and ports in the Adriatic Sea to the Levant. Alberto Ghilardi New Unesco World Heritage Sites Valongo Wharf Located in central Rio de Janeiro, this site encompasses the entirety of Jornal do Comércio Square. It is in the former harbour area of Rio de Janeiro in which the old stone wharf was built for the landing of enslaved Africans reaching the South American continent from 1811 onwards. It is the most important physical trace of the arrival of African slaves on the American continent. Milton Guran New Unesco World Heritage Sites Tarnowskie Góry Lead-Silver-Zinc Mine Located in southern Poland, one of the main mining areas of central Europe, the site includes the entire underground mine with adits, shafts, galleries and water management system. Tarnowskie Góry Land Lovers' Association New Unesco World Heritage Sites Taputapuātea Taputapuātea on Ra’iatea Island is at the centre of the Polynesian Triangle, a vast portion of the Pacific Ocean dotted with islands, and the last part of the globe to be settled by humans. SCP New Unesco World Heritage Sites Temple Zone of Sambor Prei Kuk The archaeological site of Sambor Prei Kuk has been identified as Ishanapura, the capital of the Chenla Empire that flourished in the late 6th and early 7th centuries CE. The vestiges of the city cover an area of 25 square km and include a walled city centre as well as numerous temples, 10 of which are octagonal and unique specimens of their genre in southeast Asia. So Sokun Theary New Unesco World Heritage Sites Qinghai Hoh Xil Located in the north-eastern extremity of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau in China, this is the largest and highest plateau in the world. This extensive area of alpine mountains and steppe systems is situated more than 4,500m above sea level, where sub-zero average temperatures prevail all year-round. Peking University New Unesco World Heritage Sites Okinoshima Located 60km off the western coast of Kyushu island, Okinoshima is an exceptional example of the tradition of worship of a sacred island. The archaeological sites have been preserved virtually intact, and provide a chronological record of how the rituals performed there changed from the 4th to the 9th centuries CE. World Heritage Promotion Committee New Unesco World Heritage Sites Mbanza Kongo When the Portuguese arrived in Mbanza Kongo in the 15th century they added stone buildings constructed using European methods to the existing landscape. Mbanza Kongo illustrates, more than anywhere in sub-Saharan Africa, the profound changes caused by the introduction of Christianity and the arrival of the Portuguese into Central Africa. INPC New Unesco World Heritage Sites Los Alerces national park The Los Alerces national park is located in the Andes of northern Patagonia. Successive glaciations have moulded the landscape in the region creating spectacular features such as moraines, glacial cirques and clear-water lakes. Ricardo Villalba New Unesco World Heritage Sites Kulangsu Kulangsu is a tiny island located on the estuary of the Chiu-lung River facing the city of Xiamen. With the opening of a commercial port at Xiamen in 1843 and the establishment of the island as an international settlement in 1903, this island off the southern coast of the Chinese empire suddenly became an important window for Sino-foreign exchanges. Kulangsu is an exceptional example of the cultural fusion that emerged from these exchanges. Cultural Heritage Conservation Center of THAD New Unesco World Heritage Sites Kujataa Kujataa is a sub-arctic farming landscape located in the southern region of Greenland. It bears witness to the cultural histories of the Norse hunter-gatherers who started arriving from Iceland in the 10th century, and of the Norse farmers, Inuit hunters and Inuit farming communities that developed from the end of the 18th century. Christian K. Madsen New Unesco World Heritage Sites Assumption Cathedral The Assumption Monastery illustrates in its location and architectural composition the political and missionary programme developed by Tsar Ivan IV to extend the Moscow state. The cathedral’s frescoes are among the rarest examples of Eastern Orthodox mural paintings. Dmitrii Karpov New Unesco World Heritage Sites Aphrodisias Located in southwestern Turkey, in the upper valley of the Morsynus River, the site consists of two components: the archaeological site of Aphrodisias and the marble quarries northeast of the city. The temple of Aphrodite dates from the 3rd century BC and the city was built one century later. Aphrodisias Museum New Unesco World Heritage Sites Swabian Jura Modern humans first arrived in Europe 43,000 years ago during the last ice age. One of the areas where they took up residence was the Swabian Jura in southern Germany. Excavated from the 1860s, six caves have revealed items dating from 43,000 to 33,000 years ago. Among them are carved figurines of animals, musical instruments and items of personal adornment. S. M. Heidenreich New Unesco World Heritage Sites ǂKhomani Cultural Landscape The ǂKhomani Cultural Landscape is located at the border with Botswana and Namibia. The large expanse of sand contains evidence of human occupation from the Stone Age to the present and is associated with the culture of the formally nomadic ǂKhomani San people and the strategies that allowed them to adapt to harsh desert conditions. Francois Odendaal Productions New Unesco World Heritage Sites Dauria Shared between Mongolia and the Russian Federation, this site is an outstanding example of the Daurian Steppe eco-region, which extends from eastern Mongolia into Russian Siberia and north-eastern China. Cyclical climate changes with distinct dry and wet periods led to a wide diversity of species and ecosystems of global significance. V. Kirilyuk New Unesco World Heritage Sites Hebron/Al-Khalil The use of a local limestone shaped the construction of the old town of Hebron/Al-Khalil during the Mamluk period between 1250 and 1517. The place became a site of pilgrimage for the three monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Hesham Sarsour New Unesco World Heritage Sites Asmara Located at more than 2,000m above sea level, the capital of Eritrea developed from the 1890s onwards as a military outpost for the Italian colonial power. It is an exceptional example of early modernist urbanism at the beginning of the 20th century and its application in an African context. Asmara Heritage Project

The US helped found Unesco in the wake of the Second World War, with the aim of ensuring peace through the free flow of ideas and education. The country’s withdrawal marks yet another move by the Trump administration to distance itself from global organisations.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made the decision to pull out several weeks ago, and announced it to French President Emmanuel Macron in a meeting with Donald Trump late last month, according to Foreign Policy. The State Department had hoped to delay the announcement until after Unesco selects a new Director General this week.

The current Director General, Irina Bokova, expressed her “profound regret” at the US’s decision. “Universality is critical to UNESCO’s mission to strengthen international peace and security in the face of hatred and violence, to defend human rights and dignity,” she said in a statement.

The US's decision will not effect existing Unesco world heritage sites in the country, or prevent it from submitting sites for consideration in the future, Unesco Media Chief George Papagiannis said. But he added that the US was losing a "world security partner" in Unesco.

"We’re trying to make a difference in this world by fighting violent extremists; making sure girls are getting access to schools; that teachers are getting the proper training they need," he told The Independent. "...It’s very disappointing to see the United States withdraw."

Trump: Israelis and Palestinians are 'reaching for peace'

The US has withdrawn from the organisation once before, during the Reagan administration. Former President Ronald Regan pulled the country from Unesco in 1984, claiming the body was biased in favour of the Soviet Union.

President George W Bush rejoined the organisation in 2002, but the US pulled its funding less than 10 years later after the organisation accepted Palestine as a member.

Israel recalled its ambassador to Unesco last year, following the passage of several resolutions that Israelis claim erased their cultural and religious ties to Jerusalem.

Israel’s relationship with Unesco has long been rocky; its officials accused the body of making decisions based on political motivations.

Mr Trump, still a presidential candidate at the time, weighed in on the resolutions, calling their passage a “one-sided attempt to ignore Israel’s 3,000-year bond to its capital city” and “further evidence of the enormous anti-Israel bias” at the United Nations.

Ms Haley has also criticised Unesco for designating Hebron’s Old City and the Tomb of the Patriarchs – two major monuments in the area – as Palestinian territory.

“US taxpayers should no longer be on the hook to pay for policies that are hostile to our values and make a mockery of justice and common sense,” she said on Friday.

But the decision to withdraw from Unesco may also have been a financial one: the US owed more than $500m in arrears to the organisation and was at risk of losing it voting rights, according to Unesco documents. According to Foreign Policy, Mr Tillerson simply wanted to stem outgoings.

Several Democratic politicians were quick to criticise the announcement. Ben Rhodes, former foreign policy adviser to President Barack Obama, pointed to Mr Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris climate accord and criticism of the Iran nuclear deal.

“Why would any country trust US to keep agreements?” he tweeted.