Axios revealed Monday that the United States last week notified the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) privately that it had decided to return to the agency nearly six years after the Trump administration announced the withdrawal of US membership, a State Department spokesperson told Axios.

Joining UNESCO is one of the Biden administration's foreign policy goals - primarily in an effort to counter what it views as the Chinese government's growing influence over the UN agency's agenda.

It is reported that after Palestine became a full member of UNESCO in 2011, the Obama administration stopped funding the organization because it was prohibited from doing so under US law.

In October 2017, the administration of former President Donald Trump announced that it would end its membership in UNESCO due to what it described as bias against Israel, and Israel, in turn, announced that it would leave the organization shortly after.

And the site says, "In the month of 2022, the Israeli government notified the US State Department that it would not oppose the return of the United States to UNESCO. The Israeli position paved the way for some Democrats and Republicans in Congress to support the move, and last December, Congress approved a bill that appropriated more than 500 One million dollars to pay off the United States' debt to UNESCO and allow it to return as a full member."

Legislation from the US Congress includes a provision that if the Palestinians gain member state status in a UN agency, the US will stop funding it again.

The bill will expire on September 30, 2025, when UNESCO's current director-general leaves office, but Congress will likely extend the term of the law.

According to the site: "A spokesman for the US State Department said that the Deputy Secretary of State for Administrative Affairs and Resources, Richard Verma, delivered a letter to the Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, on June 8, proposing a plan for the United States to return to join the organization."

An informed source told Axios, "The plan, which came as a result of long negotiations between the US State Department and UNESCO, sets a timetable for repayment of the US debt and for its readmission to the agency's executive board."

Last Friday, the UNESCO Director-General's office invited ambassadors of all member states to an extraordinary meeting scheduled for Monday, during which Azoulay will present urgent strategic information, according to an email obtained by Axios.

A source familiar with the issue said that Azoulay called the meeting to inform member states of the US plan to return to UNESCO and to demand their approval to hold a special general meeting in July to welcome the US decision and approve the accession plan.

"Any such action (returning to UNESCO) requires the approval of existing UNESCO members," said a US State Department spokesperson.

According to the site, the United States wants to rejoin UNESCO and start paying off its debts now so that it can run for a seat on the UNESCO Executive Board in the next elections in November.