U.N. envoy expelled from Israel

TEL AVIV, Israel, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Richard Falk, U.N. envoy monitoring human rights in the Palestinian territories, was expelled from Israel Monday, officials in Tel Aviv said.

Falk, who was barred from entering the country at Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday, raised Israeli anger by accusing Israel of committing a crime against humanity. He equated Israel's policies involving Palestinians in the Gaza Strip with Nazi treatment of Jews during the World War II Holocaust.

Falk, a Jewish American and professor emeritus at Princeton University, was on his first visit after being named to compile a report on the Palestinian human rights situation.

But, he was stopped at the airport gate and told he could not enter because his visit had not been coordinated with Israel. He and his entourage were put on a plane out of the country on Monday, Haaretz said.

In a statement last week, Falk said Israel was causing "a humanitarian catastrophe that is unfolding day by day."

He said Israel's treatment of Palestinians "for political developments within the Gaza Strip constitutes a continuing flagrant and massive violation of international humanitarian law," the Jerusalem Post reported.