The United States is considering withdrawing from the United Nations body on human rights.

Highlighting what it deemed a 'biased' stance on Israel, UN ambassador Nikki Haley said the US was 'looking carefully' at its role on the Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

'The United States is looking carefully at this Council and our participation in it,' Haley told the Geneva forum in her first address. 'We see some areas for significant strengthening.'

She said it was 'hard to accept' five resolutions had been passed against Israel, a US ally, while none were considered against Venezuela, which is in the grips of bloody protests over the rule of its president Nicolas Maduro.

UN ambassador Nikki Haley (pictured) said the US was 'looking carefully' at its role on the Human Rights Council

The United States is considering withdrawing from the United Nations body on human rights. Pictured: US President Donald Trump

She called on the Council to address serious human rights violations in Venezuela and for President Maduro's government to give up its seat in the 47-member UN body unless it gets its 'house in order'.

It came as the UN's top human rights official Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein called on Israel to pull out of Palestinian territories captured in 1967.

Palestinians want a state in the West Bank and Gaza, with East Jerusalem as their capital. The last round of peace talks collapsed in 2014.

Now, in a speech opening a three-week session of the UN Human Rights Council, al-Hussein observed the 50th anniversary of when he 'first heard the sound of war' as a boy in Amman, Jordan.

He said Palestinians were now marking 'a half-century of deep suffering under an occupation imposed by military force' and marked by 'systematic' violations of international law.

Haley took around four minutes to deliver her highly-anticipated remarks to the Council as it opened its three-week summer session today.

In December 2015, Trump (pictured with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu) said he was 'very neutral' on Israel-Palestinian issues but his tone became decidedly pro-Israeli as the presidential campaign progressed

Haley said it was 'hard to accept' five resolutions had been passed against Israel while none were considered against Venezuela, which is in the grips of bloody protests (pictured) over the rule of its president Nicolas Maduro

She called on the Council to adopt 'the strongest possible resolutions on the critical human rights situations in Syria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Belarus and Ukraine'.

Haley went on to say it should 'follow up' to prevent further human rights violations and abuses in those countries.

Haley described the UNHCR as 'so corrupt' weeks after becoming Trump's ambassador to the United Nations.

Her one-day appearance at a 'side event' in Geneva today was anticipated to be the standout event of the three-week session due to the US's reputation as a key human-rights defender - and single largest donor to the UN.

In December 2015, Trump said he was 'very neutral' on Israel-Palestinian issues but his tone became decidedly pro-Israeli as the presidential campaign progressed.

He has spoken disparagingly of Palestinians, saying they have been 'taken over' by or are condoning militant groups.

Days after the United Nations voted to condemn Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem this December, Trump questioned its effectiveness and branded it 'a club for people to have a good time'.

Trump (pictured) has spoken disparagingly of Palestinians, saying they have been 'taken over' by or are condoning militant groups

The UNHRC sparked outrage after Saudi Arabia, which has been bombing Houthi rebels in Yemen since 2015, was re-elected to the Council. Pictured: Pro-government fighters carry soldier killed during clashes with Houthi fighters in the south-western city of Taiz

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International condemned the oil rich nation's 'appalling record of violations' in Yemen. Pictured:UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, right, with Saudi Arabian Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud

Saudi Arabia elected to UN women's right commission Human Rights groups were outraged when Saudi Arabia was elected to the UN women's rights commission in April. It became one of 45 nations on a panel 'promoting women's rights, documenting the reality of women's lives throughout the world, and shaping global standards on gender equality and the empowerment of women'. Saudi Arabia not only has a state policy of gender segregation but also requires every woman to have 'a male guardian who makes all critical decisions on her behalf,' said Hillel Neuer, director of UN Watch. He added: 'Saudi Arabia also bans women from driving cars... Electing Saudi Arabia to protect women's rights is like making an arsonist into the town fire chief... It's absurd.' Human Rights groups were outraged when Saudi Arabia was elected to the UN women's rights commission in April. Pictured: Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud with German Chancellor Angela Merkel Advertisement

The UNHRC sparked outrage after Saudi Arabia, which carried out 157 executions last year, was re-elected to the Council last year.

In a joint statement, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International condemned the oil rich nation's 'appalling record of violations' in Yemen, where it has been bombing Houthi rebels since 2015.

Both organizations unsuccessfully called for Saudi Arabia, a member of the UNHRC since it was created in 2006, to be suspended.