UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- The UN General Assembly (GA) held an emergency special session on Friday to debate a draft resolution sponsored by Qatar that seeks to condemn Israel's recent military operations in the Gaza Strip, particularly the deadly attack on Palestinian homes in Beit Hanoun.

    The session, convened at the request of Arab delegations and the Non-Aligned Movement, followed Arab accusations that the UN Security Council had failed to shoulder its responsibility due to a U.S. veto on Nov. 11 of an Arab-sponsored draft resolution that would have condemned the deadly Israeli attack in Gaza and urged an immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces from there.

    The text was killed by the U.S. veto despite the fact that 10 of the council's 15 members voted in favor.

    In early November, Israel carried out a major military offensive into Beit Hanoun, saying the border town was the launching site of numerous rocket attacks against Israel. Israel's artillery shells killed some 19 civilians in the town on Nov. 8.

    The GA draft resolution would call on the international community, as well as the diplomatic Quartet on the Middle East peace process - the European Union, Russia, the United States and United Nations - "to help stabilize the situation and restart the peace process, including through the establishment of an international mechanism for the protection of civilian population."

    The text would ask the UN secretary-general to set up a UN probe into the incident.

    The situation in the territory was deteriorating and the killings of both Israeli and Palestinian civilians must be condemned, said Sheikha Haya Al Khalifa, president of the assembly.

    A return to the negotiating table was the only path forward, not just by the two parties, but by the whole international community because the situation went beyond the boundaries on the ground, she added.

    Riyad Mansour, permanent observer of Palestine, said the veto of the Security Council draft, cast by the veto-wielding United States for the thirty-first time since the 1967 occupation began, "sent the wrong message to Israel that it was above international law" and to Palestine "that violence was condoned."

    The circumstances surrounding Beit Hanoun had confirmed that the killing of Palestinian civilians fell into the category of war crimes, he concluded, urging punishment of perpetrators in accordance with the relevant regulations of The Hague Convention and Geneva Conventions.

    Israel's Ambassador Dan Gillerman slammed the Hamas-led government for refusing to acknowledge Israel and aiming to destroy the State of Israel, saying Israel had responded in self-defense and had a right to do that.

    Gillerman called on Hamas to fulfill the Quartet's three conditions of recognizing Israel, renouncing violence and honoring previous agreements signed with Israel.

    The 192-member assembly has scheduled a vote on Friday afternoon on the draft resolution that would denounce the Israeli military onslaught in Gaza, in particular the deadly attack in Beit Hanoun.