* Human Rights Council probe "waste of time" - Netanyahu * Israel cites Western support for right to self-defence (Updates with release of report) By Dan Williams JERUSALEM, June 14 (Reuters) - Israel issued a report on Sunday arguing its 2014 Gaza offensive was lawful, a move aimed at pre-empting the release of findings of a U.N. war crimes investigation that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu scorned as a waste of time. The 277-page report, which cited Israel's internal probes and statements from Western leaders backing its right to self-defence, suggested the Netanyahu government hoped to defuse criticism from the U.N. Human Rights Council (HRC) inquiry in advance.