GENEVA - The United States will not take the floor at the main UN human rights forum on Monday during the annual debate on violations committed in the Palestinian territories, a US spokesman told Reuters. The step, which is unprecedented at the 47-member state forum where Washington unfailingly defends Israel, follows signals that the Obama administration is undertaking a 'reassessment' of relations with the Jewish state. 'The US delegation will not be speaking about Palestine today,' a US spokesman in Geneva told Reuters in response to a query as the debate began. He declined further comment. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's allies acknowledged on Sunday that his election-eve disavowal of a Palestinian state had caused a rift with the White House, but blamed US President Barack Obama's unprecedented criticism on a misunderstanding.
