Hamas member barred from UN hall

Israeli newspaper Haaretz has alleged that Palestinian MP and Hamas member Ismail al-Ashkar was prevented from entering the discussion hall of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. According to the newspaper, the Israeli representative in the council had earlier sent a message to the UN Director-General in Geneva, saying "al-Ashkar used to support violent attacks against Israel, and the whole attitude of his organisation (Hamas) is in full contrast with UN principles". The newspaper also reported that the US representative had worked to prevent al-Ashkar from entering the hall. Al-Ashkar arrived in Geneva on Sunday afternoon, but UN sources revealed that "al-Ashkar was not invited for delivering a speech, but actually for attending a working session for civil society organisations which are working in the human rights field, so all this Israeli stir is unreasonable". Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu had earlier criticised the UN Human Rights Council for allegedly inviting al-Ashkar to talk about the cause of Palestinian detainees in Israeli. jails. Netanyahu commented on the invitation saying: "It is a sign that this council is not connected to reality."