Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid are exploring the possibility of Israel resuming its participation in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the Prime Minister's Office confirmed on Sunday.
The issue was reportedly broached by several US officials in conversations with their Israeli counterparts, as it would go along way to facilitate the United States' own return to the agency.
US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield also raised the issue during her visit to Israel last week.
The US and Israel pulled out of UNESCO in 2019 citing growing concerns that the organization fosters anti-Israel bias.
The Paris-based organization has been denounced by its critics as a crucible for anti-Israel bias following a series of puzzling decisions questioning Israeli presence in Jerusalem, naming ancient Jewish sites as Palestinian heritage sites, and granting full membership to the Palestinian Authority in 2011.
Bennett's office did not say when a decision on the matter is expected.
Foreign Ministry Director-General Alon Ushpiz said that Washington has approached Israel about resuming its UNESCO membership, but stressed that he was "unaware of any 'pressure' from the US. I know that the US is thinking about re-entering UNESCO.
"We need to think how this works out with our relations with the Palestinian Authority, and it's not something that can be separated from a host of other issues. This impacts how the international community views the Palestinian Authority and out position is that the PA is not a state," he said.
International law expert Eugene Kontorovich told Israel Hayom that it would be a mistake for Israel to resume its UNESCO membership.
"UNESCO is a key part of the UN's campaign to delegitimize Israel and Israel's accession to the organization will give it the ultimate stamp of approval for its activities," Kontorovich said.
"The American push to reopen the US consulate for Palestinian in Jerusalem works to weaken Israel's link to Jerusalem when UNESCO has also tried to undermine Israel's link to the Temple Mount and Hebron.
"We see that the recurring theme of American diplomacy is the attempt to get Israel to cooperate with denying its own historical narrative," he warned.
