UN rights council to hold urgent debate on Gaza boat raid

The UN Human Rights Council will hold an urgent debate Tuesday on Israel's military interception of an aid flotilla heading for the Gaza Strip, a spokeswoman said.

"The Council will be holding an urgent debate on the Gaza flotilla incident this afternoon," the spokeswoman Claire Kaplun said in a statement.

The request was tabled by states from the Arab League and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), Kaplun told AFP.

A draft resolution on the incident was being drawn up by several unspecified nations in the 47-member state council, she added.

Israeli commandoes boarded one of the aid ships bound for the Gaza Strip in a pre-dawn raid on Monday that left at least nine passengers dead and sparked global outrage. Hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists were also arrested.

Israeli Defence Forces blamed activists on the ship for creating the confrontation by attacking its soldiers as they boarded the vessel.

Israel warned Tuesday it would prevent all aid ships from reaching besieged Gaza, as activists vowed a new attempt to defy the three-year-old blockade of the Hamas-run Palestinian territory.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay condemned Israel's use of military force as disproportionate, as the incident sparked widespread criticism when the council began its latest two week session on Monday.

Israeli ambassador Aharon Leshno Yaar urged the Human Rights Council "not to rush to conclusions" until full information about the incident was known.

The UN Security Council in New York later called for an impartial investigation into the attack and the immediate release of all civilians.

In Geneva, Pillay underlined her broader concerns about the impact of the Israeli blockade on human rights in Gaza.

"The blockade lies at the heart of so many of the problems plaguing the Israel-Palestine situation, as does the impression that the Israeli government treats international law with perpetual disdain," she said.

Israel is frequently the subject of special debates and condemnation by the UN's top rights assembly for issues such as settlement building in occupied territories and abuse against Palestinians.

A similar special session early last year led to a UN human rights investigation into Israel's 2008-2009 military offensive in the Gaza Strip.

The fact-finding mission led by former international war crimes prosecutor Richard Goldstone concluded that both Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers committed war crimes and possible crimes against humanity.

Israel has resisted one of the key demands of the mission's report, to carry out a probe into the allegations.