UN panel to hear Palestinian race case against Israel

A UN committee will hear a Palestinian complaint accusing Israel of racial discrimination, in a decision criticised by Washington on Monday.

The committee of independent experts, which has the power to name and shame members of the UN convention on racial discrimination who break the rules, decided it could handle a complaint filed by the Palestinians in 2018 -- details of which have not been released.

But the United States expressed "profound disappointment", arguing that Israel did not recognise Palestine as a state or as a party to the convention -- as a result, the committee had no jurisdiction.

The Palestinians signed the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in 2014 as the State of Palestine.

"The Committee's disregard for treaty law raises serious questions about the legitimacy of this process," said Andrew Bremberg, US envoy to international organisations.

"The United States will continue to advocate for fair treatment for Israel in .