The UN Commission recognized Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide against the Palestinians
The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory recognized that Israel committed genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. This is mentioned in the report of the UN Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
The Commission considered the events of October 7, 2023 and the subsequent actions following the attack by the Hamas group on a festival in Israel and Israel’s response in the form of shelling and the occupation of Gaza. The findings indicate that the Israeli government and army committed four of the five acts of genocide under the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. These are murders, infliction of severe physical or mental harm, deliberate creation of living conditions designed for the partial or total destruction of Palestinians, as well as taking measures aimed at preventing births.
“The commission believes that Israel is responsible for the genocide in Gaza. It is clear that there is an intention to exterminate the Palestinians in Gaza through actions that meet the criteria set out in the Genocide Convention,’ said the head of the commission, Navi Pillay.
The report emphasizes that the statements of the Israeli government and the actions of the army indicate an intention to completely or partially destroy the Palestinians in Gaza as a group.
“The responsibility for these terrible crimes lies at the highest echelons of the Israeli government, which has been organizing a genocidal campaign for almost two years with the specific intention of destroying the Palestinian group in Gaza. The commission also believes that Israel failed to prevent and punish the genocide by not investigating the acts of genocide and bringing the alleged perpetrators to justice, Navi Pillay stressed.
When determining genocidal intent, the commission applied the standard of “unified finding” used by the International Court of Justice of the United Nations in the case of Bosnia v. Serbia. She analyzed the statements of Israeli officials and came to the conclusion that they are direct evidence of genocidal intent.
Furthermore, the commission examined the conduct of the Israeli authorities and army in Gaza, including the artificial creation of conditions of famine and inhumane living conditions, and determined that genocidal intent is the only possible conclusion that follows from the nature of these actions. The commission also stated that Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant incited genocide, but the Israeli authorities did not apply any punitive measures against them.
