A team of U.N. war crimes investigators is preparing to visit conflict zones in Israel and Gaza, officials said Friday.

No dates for the trip have been announced, and Israel already has expressed reservations about the investigation ordered by the 47-nation U.N. Human Rights Council, which has a record of singling out the Jewish state for criticism.

The Israeli diplomatic mission in Geneva declined to say if Israel would allow the U.N. investigators into the country.

"All I can tell you is that the Human Rights Council is biased against Israel and that the legal basis of the mission is a one-sided resolution," said Karen Smadja, an official with the Israeli mission.

Justice Richard Goldstone said he was heading a team of investigators that would focus on whether international humanitarian law was upheld during the Israel-Hamas conflict in January, and whether the two sides complied with their responsibility to ensure the protection of civilians and noncombattants.

Goldstone _ a former member of the South African Constitutional Court who has close links to Israel and has been a chief prosecutors for war crimes in Yugoslavia and Rwanda _ said the investigators would avoid "political considerations," according to a U.N. statement.

"I believe that an objective assessment of the issues is in the interests of all parties, will promote a culture of accountability and could serve to promote greater peace and security in the region," he said in the statement.

The team has asked Israel for cooperation in allowing for the visit to affected areas of southern Israel and occupied Palestinian territories, including the Gaza Strip, the statement said.

The U.N. Human Rights Council ordered the investigation in January, and announced on April 3 that Goldstone would head a team that would report on what happened to victims on both sides of the conflict.

This week, the team's four members met with representatives of different countries as well as from the U.N. and other agencies with links to the region, the U.N. statement said. The team also laid out plans for three months of work.

Aside from Goldstone, the team includes Christine Chinkin, professor of international law at the London School of Economics; Hina Jilani, a human rights advocate from Pakistan; and Desmond Travers, a former officer in the Irish Armed Forces with expertise on international criminal investigations.

Complicating the situation, a separate U.N. investigation released a report earlier this week accusing Israel of spreading false statements about its attacks on U.N. schools and other facilities during the Gaza military campaign. It said Israeli weaponry _ some containing white phosphorus _ was "the undisputed cause" of attacks on several schools, a health clinic and the world body's Gaza headquarters.

Israel has labeled that report biased and denied intentionally striking the compounds. It says it was forced to act against militants who were using the buildings and other civilian areas for cover.

___

Associated Press Writers Eliane Engeler and Frank Jordans contributed to this report.