The Islamic Hamas movement on Monday said Israel has no right to intervene in the activities of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), in response to the Israeli rejection of a Hamas official's participation in a UNHRC meeting.

Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, voiced this position in response to the Israeli rejection of Ismail al-Ashqar, a Hamas legislator who was scheduled speak at a UNHRC seminar in Geneva on Monday about the Israeli detention of dozens of West Bank-based Palestinian parliament members, most of them representing Hamas.

"Hamas and its lawmakers have the right to meet and participate in international and European institutions," said Mushier al- Massri, a Hamas official in Gaza.

Earlier on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed the UNHRC for inviting a Hamas member to attend its conference to be held in Geneva, saying that al-Ashqar is someone who "condemned the U.S. for killing (Osama) bin Laden and kills Jewish men, women and children."

Israel "tries to mislead the international public opinion from its crimes," al-Massri said, urging the UNHRC to force Israel to respect human rights and release the jailed Palestinian lawmakers.