'Imminent' US withdrawal expected from UN Human Rights Council

The United States is planning to pull out of the UN Human Rights Council over claims by Washington that the body is biased against Israel, diplomatic sources say.

The council will begin a three-week session in Geneva on Monday, with sources telling Reuters that a US withdrawal could be "imminent".

Other diplomatic sources said that it was "not a question of if but of when."

US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has repeatedly criticised the council over alleged "anti-Israel bias" and threatened to leave last year.

The US boycotted the human rights body for three years under former president George W. Bush and rejoined under former president Barack Obama.

Haley has consistently voted against UN measures critical of Israel, most recently on a proposal to investigate Israel's use of excessive force in the Gaza Strip.

In May, the UN council held a special meeting to discuss violence in Gaza, following an Israeli massacre of over 60 Palestinian protesters.

The US and Australia were the only two countries to vote against a proposal for an "independent, international commission of inquiry" to investigate violations of human rights in Gaza.