UN Human Rights Council condemned Israel

       The United Nations Human Rights Council, dominated by Muslim states and their allies, condemned Israel on Monday for "grave violations" of human rights of the people of Gaza. A resolution drafted by Arab, Asian and African countries also called for the urgent dispatch of an international mission to Gaza and called on Israel to cooperate with it. But the non-binding resolution, passed by 33 votes with 13 abstentions and one against, was dismissed by Israel as one-sided and reflecting the "fairytale world" of the 47-member Council, for which the Jewish state is a prime target. The text of the document said the Council "strongly condemns the ongoing Israeli military operations...which have resulted in massive violations of human rights of the Palestinian people and systematic destruction of the Palestinian infrastructure." The resolution, whose wording diplomats said had been softened at the request of Palestinian envoys in an effort to get a consensus in the Council, was opposed outright by Canada while European countries, Japan and South Korea abstained. (21,17)