UN human rights experts have warned that Israel risks becoming an international "pariah" over its "genocide" in Gaza, suggesting the country's membership in the United Nations could be in question.

Several independent UN experts on Monday denounced what they said was Israel's escalation of violence and rights violations in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, its disregard for international court rulings and its verbal attacks on the UN itself.

The rapporteurs, who are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council but do not speak on behalf of the United Nations, also criticised Western countries' "double standards" in the devastating war and said Israel needed to face consequences for its actions.

“I believe it is not possible for Israel to become a pariah state in the face of its continued, ongoing and shameful assault on the United Nations, as well as millions of Palestinians,” said Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, referring to the verbal and military attacks on UN facilities in Gaza.

"Should its membership be considered as part of this organization, which Israel seems to have no respect for at all?" she added.

The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza after more than 11 months of conflict has raised questions about the long-standing political and military support for Israel from Western countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, which supply Israel with weapons.

“It is astonishing that in the face of the abyss that [the occupied Palestinian territories] have reached… most member states have remained inactive at best, or actively assisted in Israel’s criminal behaviour,” Albanese told a news conference in Geneva on Monday.

Albanese, an Italian lawyer, said she was referring to Western countries as well as some Gulf states and others. Israel denies the genocide allegations and says it takes steps to minimize the risk of harm to civilians and that at least a third of the 41,118 Palestinians killed in Gaza were combatants. Israel’s permanent mission to the United Nations in Geneva criticized Albanese after her comments. “She is not qualified to hold any position at the United Nations, and many have made that clear,” it said.

Albanese was joined by three other independent UN experts who accused Western countries of hypocrisy and double standards, for example by speaking more openly about Russia’s human rights abuses since its invasion of Ukraine than about Israel’s actions in Gaza. George Katrougalos, the UN special rapporteur on the promotion of a democratic and just international order, also called for Israel to be held to the same standards as all states. He condemned its repeated attacks on critical UN officials or agencies. “We can no longer tolerate this kind of double standards and hypocrisy,” Katrougalos told reporters.

"I hope this situation will not continue... I am confident that the progressive and democratic citizens of Israel will not allow their country to become a pariah as South Africa became during the time of apartheid," he added.

These experts are among dozens of independent human rights professionals commissioned by the United Nations to prepare reports and advise on specific issues and crises. Their views do not reflect the views of the world body as a whole.