Concerned over the "deteriorating humanitarian conditions" of the Palestinian people, India and 28 other countries have demanded an end to military action by Israel in the occupied areas and sought immediate release of arrested Palestinian ministers and members of Palestinian Legislative Council.
A special session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on Thursday also decided to send a fact-finding mission urgently to Palestinian areas to assess the ground situation.
After two days of deliberations, the session adopted a resolution on the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territory expressing "grave concern at the detrimental impact of the current Israeli military operation on the already deteriorating humanitarian conditions of the Palestinian people."
India and 28 other countries voted in favour of the resolution, while 11 voted against and five abstained.
"The council (resolution) demanded that Israel end its military operations in the occupied Palestinian territory," a statement issued by the UNHRC after the two-day session said.
Israel launched military action after one of its soldiers was abducted in an attack by Hamas at a security post on June 25.
The council also asked Israel to immediately release the arrested Palestinian ministers, and members of the Palestinian Legislative Council.
The UNHRC decided to dispatch an urgent fact-finding mission headed by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, the statement said.
An amendment moved by Pakistan to the draft resolution was also approved by a vote of 28 to 0, with 17 abstentions. India voted in favour of the amendment.
By that amendment, the Human Rights Council urged all concerned parties to respect the rules of international humanitarian law, refrain from violence against the civilian population and treat under all circumstances all detained combatants and civilians in accordance with the Geneva Conventions, the statement said.
Israel, speaking as a concerned country, asked the council to vote against the resolution, and Palestine, as a concerned party, called on all delegations to vote in favour of the text.
The 29 countries which voted in favour of the resolution are: Algeria, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Cuba, Ecuador, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Uruguay and Zambia.
