UN: Israel committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza

A United Nations Commission has concluded that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, citing a pattern of genocidal conduct by Israeli officials and civilians, according to a new report released on Sept 16.

The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, urged Tel Aviv and all states to fulfill their legal obligations under international law "to end the genocide and punish those responsible for it".

The commission also recommended that member states "cease the transfer of arms and other equipment that may be used for the commission of genocidal acts to Israel" and ensure individuals and corporations in their territories and within their jurisdiction "are not involved in aiding and assisting the commission of genocide or incitement to commit genocide".

"The commission finds that Israel is responsible for the commission of genocide in Gaza," said Navi Pillay, chair of the commission, adding that 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," namely, killing, causing serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of the Palestinians, and imposing measures intended to prevent births.

The commission also concluded that Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant, "have incited the commission of genocide" and that Israeli authorities "have failed to take action against them to punish this incitement".

But the commission also added it has not fully assessed statements by other Israeli political and military leaders and considers that they too "should be assessed to determine whether they constitute incitement to commit genocide".

The report noted that explicit statements by Israeli civilian and military authorities and the pattern of conduct of the Israeli security forces indicate that the genocidal acts were committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as a group.

Further, Israel must end its policy of starvation, lift the siege and facilitate and ensure the unimpeded access of humanitarian aid at scale and unhindered access of all United Nations staff.

"The responsibility for these atrocity crimes lies with Israeli authorities at the highest echelons who have orchestrated a genocidal campaign for almost two years now with the specific intent to destroy the Palestinian group in Gaza," said Pillay.

"The commission also finds that Israel has failed to prevent and punish the commission of genocide, through failure to investigate genocidal acts and to prosecute alleged perpetrators," she added.

The report is based on all the commission's prior investigations, as well as factual and legal findings in relation to attacks in Gaza carried out by Israeli forces, and the conduct and statements of Israeli authorities from Oct 7, 2023, until July 31 this year. The commission's findings are based on a comprehensive examination of the underlying acts of genocide (actus reus) and genocidal intent (dolus specialis).

"The international community cannot stay silent on the genocidal campaign launched by Israel against the Palestinian people in Gaza. When clear signs and evidence of genocide emerge, the absence of action to stop it amounts to complicity," said Pillay.

"Every day of inaction costs lives and erodes the credibility of the international community. All States are under a legal obligation to use all means that are reasonably available to them to stop the genocide in Gaza," she added.

In a post on X, the Foreign Ministry of Israel said it "categorically rejects this distorted and false report and calls for the immediate abolition of this Commission of Inquiry."

Ahmad Ghouri, an associate professor at the School of Law, Politics, and Sociology at the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom, told China Daily the report "is a significant legal and moral finding, and it places pressure on governments and institutions worldwide to respond".

Israel's response, he said "is not a legal counter-argument, but a political and rhetorical maneuver."

"It avoids engaging with the Commission's core findings: that four of the five acts defined under the Genocide Convention were committed, and that genocidal intent was inferred from both conduct and official statements," said Ghouri.

"Instead, Israel's reply pivots to moral outrage, invoking the Hamas's actions and the specter of anti-Semitism to delegitimize the inquiry. It's a well-established old technique by Israel, using anti-Semitism and past Hamas actions, which are by no means equal measures to Israel's atrocities, to rebut such report," he added.