A new report commissioned by the United Nations has said that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
On Tuesday, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry, which was established by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2021, found that Israel has been “responsible for the commission of genocide in Gaza” since October 7, 2023.
In its report, the commission concluded that Israeli authorities and security forces “committed four of the five genocidal acts defined by the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide”, which is also known as the “Genocide Convention” established three years after the end of World War II and the Holocaust.
The four acts include killing members of the group, causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group, deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part and imposing measures to prevent intended births.
“It is clear that there is an intent to destroy the Palestinians in Gaza through acts that meet the criteria set forth in the Genocide Convention,” Navi Pillay, Chair of the commission, said.
Within the report, the commission mentioned Israel’s direct targeting of civilians, including women and children, mass killings and its deliberate blockade of food, water and medical supplies.
It also detailed statements made by Israeli leaders, such as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, “incited the commission of genocide” of Palestinians in Gaza.
Per Associated Press, while neither the commission nor the council could take action against Israel, the finding could be used in the International Criminal Court or the UN’s International Court of Justice.
As a result of its findings — which follow a two-year investigation into Israel’s actions in Gaza — the commission has called on countries to stop transferring weapons and/or equipment to the country that could be used for “genocidal acts”. Per ABC News, it also called on governments to make certain that both individuals and corporations were not supporting genocidal acts and to pursue legal action for those who are complicit.
“The international community cannot stay silent on the genocidal campaign launched by Israel,” Pillay said, per the publication.
Danny Meron, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, said the commission’s “cherry-picked” findings “promotes a narrative serving Hamas and its supporters in attempting to delegitimise and demonise the state of Israel. The report falsely accuses Israel of genocidal intent, an allegation it cannot substantiate”.
In a statement to ABC News, Israel rejected the findings, labelled it “distorted and false” and called for an “immediate abolition” of the commission.
More than 64,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 2023, according to local health officials. The Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine wrote a letter to the UN Secretary General in April this year following 864 letters on the ongoing crisis in Palestine, pleading for all states “to halt this genocide and protect the Palestinian people”.
The report’s findings comes months after two Israeli human rights groups — B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI) — labelled the country’s attacks on Gaza a “genocide”.
In August, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that Australia would be recognising a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly this month, alongside countries like France and Canada.
Image source: AP Newsroom
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