The United Nations Human Rights Council agreed on Thursday to launch an international investigation into crimes committed during the 11-day conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
By a vote of 24 states in favor, 9 against, with 14 abstentions, the 47-member forum adopted a resolution brought by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Palestinian delegation to the United Nations.
"The draft resolution ... is therefore adopted," Nazhat Shameem Khan, Fiji's ambassador who serves as current president of the Geneva forum, said after an all-day special session.
Israel rejected and Hamas welcomed the decision.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said the country would not cooperate with the probe, deeming it a bid to "whitewash crimes committed by the terror organization Hamas".
A spokesman for the Palestinian militant group called its actions "legitimate resistance" and urged "immediate steps to punish" Israel.
The US regretted the UN move. "The action today instead threatens to imperil the progress that has been made," said the statement issued by the US mission to the UN in Geneva.
