GENEVA: The U.N. Human Rights Council on Monday passed two resolutions criticizing Israel, but kept its record intact of singling out no other country for human rights abuses.

The 47-nation council, which has censured only Israel since it began operating six months ago, this time took the Jewish state to task for its occupation of Syria's Golan Heights and for building settlements in occupied Arab territories.

The council voted 32-1 with 14 abstentions to declare illegal Israel's 1981 annexation of the Golan Heights and demand that Israel rescind its decision to impose its laws and jurisdiction on the area, which it captured in the 1967 Middle East war. Canada, which said the resolution was unbalanced, was the only no vote, and European Union members abstained.

Then it voted 45-1 to demand Israel reverse its policy of building and expanding settlements as a first step toward dismantling them. Again, Canada was the only country to vote against the resolution.

The United States and Israel are not members, but Israel's ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva said Syria had proposed the Golan Heights resolution "purely to draw attention away from its ... own deplorable human rights record."

"Under Syrian possession, the Golan Heights were used to launch constant attacks against Israeli civilians," Itzhak Levanon said. "Today, the Golan Heights is more peaceful than ever, stable and thriving. The economy is booming, fields are blossoming, and everyone is enjoying the benefits of democracy."...