U.S. officials have told The Associated Press on Thursday that the United States is pulling out of UNESCO, after repeated criticism of resolutions by the U.N. cultural agency that Washington sees as anti-Israel.

The U.S. stopped funding UNESCO after it voted to include Palestine as a member in 2011, but the State Department has maintained a UNESCO office at its Paris headquarters and sought to weigh in on policy behind the scenes.

The withdrawal was confirmed Thursday by U.S. officials speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to be publicly named discussing the decision. It comes as UNESCO is voting to choose a new director.

Out: The U.S. will not be a member of UNESCO from December 31, it was announced Thursday, after years of tensions over Palestinian membership and resolutions calling Israel an 'occupying power'

We're off: Rex Tillerson ordered the U.S. out of UNESCO on Thursday, a dramatic move which will be seen as part of growing skepticism towards the United Nations

In a statement, the State Department said it notified UNESCO director Irina Bokova on Thursday of the decision.

The U.S. will seek to have a 'permanent observer' status instead.

It says the withdrawal will take effect December 31, 2018. The United States suspended its UNESCO funding in 2011 over its vote to include Palestine as a member, and now owes about $550 million in back payments.

U.S. officials said Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made the decision and that it was not discussed with other countries but an internal U.S. government deliberation.

The officials, who were not authorized to be publicly named discussing the issue, said U.S. is notably angry over UNESCO resolutions denying Jewish connections to holy sites and references to Israel as an occupying power.

The move is likely to be seen as part of the Trump administration's skepticism about the United Nations more broadly.

UNESCO Director-general Irina Bokova said in a statement that the departure is a loss for 'the United Nations family' and for multilateralism.

She said the U.S. and UNESCO matter to each other more than ever now because 'the rise of violent extremism and terrorism calls for new long-term responses for peace and security.'

A native of Bulgaria, Bokova defended UNESCO's reputation, noting its efforts to support Holocaust education and train teachers to fight anti-Semitism.

She traced the decades-long U.S. ties with UNESCO, and noted that the Statue of Liberty is among the many World Heritage sites protected by the U.N. agency.

Bokova's two terms as director have been deeply scarred by the 2011 UNESCO vote to include Palestine as a member, funding troubles and repeated resolutions seen as anti-Israel.