GERMANY has warned Israel against boycotting a UN review of its human rights record scheduled for Tuesday if it wants to avert "severe diplomatic damage", an Israeli newspaper reports.

The warning came in a letter from German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Haaretz reported on Sunday.

UN member states periodically undergo human rights reviews.

The West is worried that Israel's refusal to attend could encourage other states to do the same.

On January 29, Israel became the first country to boycott a council review of its human rights record.

It has since been negotiating with "friendly countries" about re-engaging with the body. Israel has long complained that it is being singled out by the council, which criticises its policies toward the Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Haaretz says Israel wants to limit the use of the rights council's Article 7, which stipulates that every conference must include a separate discussion of the Jewish state's human rights record - a requirement made of no other UN member.

Netanyahu's office wouldn't comment.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor says Israel has yet to decide whether it will attend Tuesday's session in Geneva.