Israel boycotts UN rights council

Israel on Tuesday boycotted a regular review by the UN Human Rights Council, the first time any country has done so.
The move was expected as Israel has long been angered by what it claims is unfair criticism from the body. A decision last year to investigate Jewish settlements in the West Bank prompted Israel to announce it would no longer co-operate with the council.
Meanwhile, Israel yesterday said it had released $100 million of the tariffs and tax monies it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, which were frozen last year as punishment for the UN bid.
But an Israeli official said it was a one-off measure to ease the financial crisis faced by the Palestinians.