Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit on Friday welcomed the UN Human Rights Council's resolution which condemned the ongoing Israeli massive offensive in Lebanon, the official MENA news agency reported.

Abul Gheit said that the resolution was a strong message from the international community to the Israeli government that Israel's policies which violated international law and human rights were rejected.

Earlier on Friday, the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution proposed by Arab and Islamic countries condemning Israel for attacking Lebanon.

Twenty-seven of the 47 members of the council voted for the resolution while 11 voted against it, with eight abstaining.

The resolution condemned the "grave Israeli violations of human rights and breaches of international humanitarian law in Lebanon."

The council also decides to urgently establish and immediately dispatch a high-level commission to inquire Israel's violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in Lebanon.

Commenting on some western countries which voted against the resolution in the UN human rights body, Abul Gheit said that he was "surprised at the bias of these countries toward the aggressor and their refusal to abide by international law banning the targeting of civilians."

Seven European Union countries, Romanian, Ukraine, Canada and Japan voted against the resolution.

Abul Gheit said that voting against the resolution showed that these countries were pursuing "preferential policies and double standards" while claiming their respect for human rights.

"Today's vote showed how much these countries really respect human rights and international law," Abul Gheit was quoted by MENA as saying.

Over 1,000 Lebanese, most of them civilians, have been killed and about 3,000 Lebanese wounded in the 31 days of fighting between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah.

Up to one million Lebanese, or a quarter of Lebanon's population, have been displaced.

Humanitarian aid agencies have warned of a looming humanitarian disaster as Israel continues a land, sea and air blockade on Lebanon, which was imposed shortly after Israel started the massive offensive following the capture of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah guerillas on July 12.

Source: Xinhua