Israel’s Lieberman urges US to leave UN rights council

JERUSALEM

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Thursday called on the U.S. to withdraw from the UN Human Rights Council, of which Israel is not currently a member.

Members of the 47-seat council are elected by the UN General Assembly for three-year terms.

“Israel is facing a double assault: the terror assault from Gaza and a hypocritical assault led by the UN Human Rights Council,” Lieberman tweeted.

“All the condemnations are intended to prevent Israel from defending itself, but they won’t succeed,” he added.

“We must stop permitting this… hypocrisy,” Lieberman wrote, “and immediately leave the Human Rights Council and work diligently so the U.S. follows our lead.”

Lieberman halted Israel’s cooperation with the council during his stint as foreign minister in 2012.

After Monday’s massacre by Israel of 62 Palestinian protesters in Gaza, the UN said Tuesday that the human rights council would convene a special session on Friday to discuss the incident.