GENEVA (AP) — The United States on Monday boycotted a Human Rights Council session focusing on Palestinian areas, saying the regular review shows the council's "long-standing bias against Israel" that threatens the "credibility" of the U.N.-supported body. Israel is the only country that faces an examination of its rights record at every one of the council's three sessions each year under a standing agenda item — known as Item 7 — on "Palestine and other occupied Arab territories." Earlier Monday, the U.N.'s special rapporteur on "rights in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel," Michael Lynk, decried how "illegal settlement enterprise has moved at an alarming pace" this year. Lynk pointed to announcements by Israel to build 6,000 new housing units in Palestinian areas, accompanied by "high rates of demolition of Palestinian homes in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem."