The U.N. Human Rights Council will hold an extraordinary meeting this week on the occupied Palestinian territories to discuss a report alleging war crimes committed in this year's Gaza war. “The holding of the special session is at the request of Palestine," the United Nations said in a statement circulated on Tuesday. The request by the Palestinian Authority (PA) is co-sponsored by 18 member states of the Human Rights Council. In its last three-week session, which ended October 2, the 47-member Human Rights Council did not vote on a resolution condemning Israel's failure to cooperate with the Gaza inquiry, led by South African jurist Richard Goldstone. Goldstone's report, issued in September, was highly critical of Israeli actions during its winter offensive in Gaza.
