UN Human Rights Council to hold special session on Israel, Palestinians

The UN Human Rights Council says it will hold a special session on the situation in the West Bank and East Jerusalem amid the deadly violence between Israel and the Gaza terror groups.

The session, planned for next Thursday, will address “the grave human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem,” the council says in a statement.

The session was requested by Pakistan, which is the coordinator of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the Palestinian authorities, it says.

The UN does not say how many of the Geneva-based council’s 47 member states back the call, but at least a third must come out in support for a special session request to be granted.

Israel has heavily criticized the rights council over the years, saying it focuses disproportionately on the Jewish state while ignoring abuses by autocratic regimes and governments — and even accepts them as members.