The 31 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on Monday unanimously voted in favor of accepting Israel as a member of the group, a senior Jerusalem source said, Haaretz reported
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to convene a special press conference at 4 P.M. to discuss Israel's admittance into the international economic group.
Israeli officials have said acceptance would be an important stamp of approval for the country's economy, boosting its credit rating and strengthening ties with foreign investors.
Three OECD members - Switzerland, Ireland and Norway - had previously expressed reservations about Israel's membership. They have focused on the settlements, which Israel does not treat as a separate economic entity.
All new members require the approval of all 31 members.
Foreign Ministry officials earlier said that Palestinians had intensified their efforts to keep Israel out of the organization in recent days, saying that Israel infringes on Palestinians' human rights and violates OECD values.
Israel says Palestinian Prime Minister Salem Fayyad called many of the leaders of OECD countries over the past day to argue against Israel's acceptance. One of the Palestinian arguments is that Israel provided false financial data by not separating out the data related to the settlements.
Israel had launched a campaign of its own to bolster support for its membership. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to several other world leaders on the