The study aims to be comprehensive and accusatory, providing information that purportedly demonstrates Israel’s commission of genocide in Gaza. It states that Israel has violated the Genocide Convention enacted in 1948 by the newly formed United Nations. The term genocide and the convention that classified it as a crime were directly influenced by the extermination of six million Jews by Nazi Germany.
Israel refutes all claims that its actions in Gaza have violated treaties and agreements constituting the rules of war and international humanitarian law. It rationalizes its actions as self-defense, aimed at safeguarding its citizens and compelling the release of hostages abducted by Hamas and Islamic Jihad on 7 October 2023, approximately 20 of whom are presumed to be alive.
The Israelis have characterized the study as antisemitic fabrications motivated by Hamas. The compilation was conducted by a commission of inquiry established by the UN Human Rights Council. Israel and the United States are abstaining from participation in the Council, citing perceived bias against them.
The report’s findings will contribute to the increasing global condemnation of Israel’s actions, which is also emanating from Israel’s conventional Western allies and the Gulf Arab rulers that established normalized relations with Israel through the Abraham Accords.
Next week at the UN General Assembly in New York, the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Canada, and others are expected to align with the majority of UN members in acknowledging the sovereignty of an independent Palestinian state.
The action will transcend mere symbolism. This will alter the discourse over the future of the struggle that commenced over a century ago when Zionist Jews from Europe migrated to Palestine. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, has denounced recognition as antisemitic and a reward for Hamas terrorism.
He asserts that Palestinians would never attain independence in any portion of the territory between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, as a Palestinian state would jeopardize Israeli security. Israeli religious nationalists assert that the country was exclusively bestowed upon the Jewish people by God.
The 1948 convention defines genocide as the intention to annihilate, whole or partially, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group; in this instance, Palestinians in Gaza.
The study outlines measures used against Palestinians within Gaza and in Israeli prisons.
Included in the extensive list of allegations is Israel’s targeting of civilians, whom it is legally obligated to safeguard, as well as the enforcement of “inhumane conditions resulting in the deaths of Palestinians, including the deprivation of food, water, and medical supplies.” This refers to the embargo that has resulted in famine and extensive starvation, as reported by the IPC, the international organization that evaluates food crises.
The recent UN report outlines the forced displacement occurring in Gaza City, after the Israeli military’s directive for all Palestinians to relocate south. Approximately one million individuals are estimated to be impacted. Israel’s attack is intensifying, characterized by airstrikes and the demolition of several structures, including high-rises that symbolize Gaza City, which the IDF designates as Hamas “terror towers”.
The report indicates that Israel has implemented “measures aimed at preventing births”. This pertains to an assault on Gaza’s foremost fertility facility, which allegedly obliterated over 4,000 embryos, 1,000 sperm samples, and unfertilized ova.
The UN report highlights three Israeli officials for instigating genocide, in addition to the outcomes of military action.
Yoav Gallant, the then Minister of Defence, stated on 9 October 2023 that Israel was combating “human animals.” Similar to Prime Minister Netanyahu, Gallant currently has an arrest order for war crimes issued by the International Criminal Court.
Netanyahu faces allegations of incitement for equating the Gaza conflict with the narrative of the Jewish struggle against the adversary known as Amalek. In the Bible, God instructs the Jewish people to eradicate all Amalekite men, women, and children, along with their belongings and livestock.
The third politician identified is President Isaac Herzog, who, during the initial week of the conflict, criticized the Palestinians in Gaza for failing to revolt against Hamas. On 13 October 2023, he stated, “an entire nation is responsible.”
Proving the crime of genocide is legally challenging. The architects of the Genocide Convention, together with interpretations by the ICJ in subsequent decisions, intentionally established a stringent legal standard.
South Africa has filed a complaint at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, alleging that Israel has perpetrated genocide against the Palestinians. The case will require several years for adjudication.
However, since the conflict in Gaza persists and potentially intensifies due to the ongoing Israeli attack, the UN report is likely to exacerbate global tensions regarding the war.
On one side are nations advocating for a quick cessation of the violence and devastation in Gaza, while denouncing the starvation resulting from Israel’s blockade. They encompass the United Kingdom and France.
Conversely, there are Israel and the United States. The administration of President Donald Trump persists in delivering essential military assistance and diplomatic support, without which Israel would find it challenging to sustain its operations in Gaza and its aerial assaults in other regions of the Middle East.
