A coalition of UK charities has accused the British government of “a dereliction of responsibility” after ministers refused to endorse a UN-mandated commission of inquiry report into 187 deaths in Gaza that placed responsibility in almost all cases on the Israel defence forces.

At a meeting of the UN human rights council in Geneva, the Foreign Office instead abstained, saying it could not support an investigation or a resolution that failed to investigate the role of non-state actors, and in particular Hamas.

The 187 deaths at the time of Gaza protests in 2018 were investigated by a UN-mandated commission of inquiry, an investigation that the UK declined to support at the time it was established.

The Geneva forum adopted a resolution on accountability, brought by Pakistan on behalf of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), by a vote of 23 states in favour and eight against, with 15 abstentions, including the UK.

The coalition of charities said in a response to the UK refusal to endorse the commission report that the Foreign Office stance was alarming and “represents a regrettable dereliction of its responsibility to uphold respect for the rule of international law and human rights”.

They add: “The UK failed to clearly affirm that victims, survivors and their families of serious violations perpetrated by Israel’s forces at the civilian protests in Gaza require legal accountability and justice. The commission found reasonable grounds to believe that all 189 fatalities were caused by unlawful use of force – with the possible exception of two incidents – and that medical workers, journalists some children and some people with visible disabilities were shot intentionally”.

The seven-strong coalition, including Christian Aid, War on Want, Medical Aid for Palestinians Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights, urge the UK government to show what they intend to do to prevent impunity in the occupied territories in future.

The abstention decision was made even though the issue was not raised under the item 7 procedure at the HRC meeting, an agenda item dedicated to human rights abuses in Gaza and and the West Bank.

The UK announced this week it would in future vote against any item raised under item 7 on the basis that human rights abuses by Israel should not be elevated to a special status above other human rights abuses in the world. The UK was due to vote against four resolutions on Friday on the basis that they had been raised under item 7.

Defending the abstention on the commission of inquiry report, the British officials speaking in Geneva said Hamas bore principal responsibility for the violence.

Julian Braithwaite, the UK ambassador to the UN, said: “The UK continues fully to support an independent and transparent investigation into the deadly events in Gaza. We note the Israel Defence Forces opening potential criminal investigations into a number of cases. It is a source of great concern that, since 30 March 2018, over 23,000 Palestinians have been injured and 187 Palestinians have been killed during these protests. Hamas of course bear principal responsibility as their operatives have cynically exploited the protests. And we are clear that Israel has the right to self-defence.

“But equally we have publicly and privately expressed our longstanding concerns about the use of live ammunition and excessive force by the Israel Defence Forces. Our decision to abstain reflects this balance.

“The UK will continue to support the scrutiny of Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories in the human rights council, so long as such scrutiny is justified, proportionate, and does not take place under item 7.”

Britain’s moves seem likely to delight Donald Trump’s administration, which quit the human rights council in June last year, citing its approach to Israel. They also appear aimed at cementing the Conservative party’s relations with pro-Israel sections of the British Jewish community at a time when the Labour party is mired in criticism of its handling of antisemitism complaints.