The United States will not take the floor at the main U.N. human rights forum on Monday during the annual debate on violations committed in the Palestinian territories, a US spokesman told Reuters.

The step is unprecedented. The UNHRC is a notoriously anti-Israel forum where Washington has always defended Israel.

The Obama administration has said in recent days that it is undertaking a “reassessment” of relations with the Jewish state.

“The U.S. delegation will not be speaking about Palestine today,” a U.S. spokesman in Geneva told Reuters in response to a question as the debate began. He declined further comment.

Earlier this month, US Secretary of State John Kerry defended Israel before the UNHRC, urging its members to end its blatant bias towards the Jewish state.

In a speech denouncing human rights abuses in Ukraine, Syria and North Korea, Kerry spoke about what he said is the council’s “deeply concerning record on Israel.”

“No one in this room can deny that there is an unbalanced focus on one democratic country,” he stated. Kerry criticized the council for having criticism of Israel as part of its permanent agenda.