“Like in Rwanda”: UN Commission recognizes Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide
16 September 11:48
The United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Israeli actions in Palestine concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. In addition, the commission found that high-ranking Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, incited these acts. This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to Reuters.
According to the UN Genocide Convention of 1948, genocide is defined as crimes committed
“with intent to destroy in whole or in part a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.”
The Commission found that Israel has committed four of the five classic acts of genocide in its current war against Hamas:
- murder;
- causing serious physical or mental harm;
- deliberately creating conditions of life calculated to destroy an ethnic group (Palestinians) in whole or in part;
- the use of measures to prevent births.
To substantiate this, the commission cited the scale of killings, blocking of humanitarian aid, forced relocation of the population, and destruction of a reproductive health clinic.
“Genocide is happening in Gaza,”
– said Navi Pillay, head of the Commission and former judge of the International Criminal Court. According to her, the responsibility for these crimes lies with the Israeli authorities at the highest level.
Pillay emphasized that Israeli officials
“organized a genocidal campaign for almost two years with the specific intention of destroying the Palestinian group in Gaza.”
The Commission pointed to statements by Netanyahu and other officials as direct evidence of genocidal intent.
Genocide like in Rwanda
Pillay, who chaired the UN tribunal for Rwanda, where more than a million people were killed in 1994, drew parallels between the situations.
“When I look at the facts of the Rwandan genocide, it is very similar. You dehumanize your victims,”
– she explained.
Pillay expressed hope that the commission’s report will open the eyes of the world’s states to the situation.
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Israel’s reaction
Israel refused to cooperate with the commission. The country’s diplomatic mission in Geneva accused the commission of having a political program against Israel. The State of Israel denies such accusations, citing the right to self-defense after the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.
the commission’s 72-page legal analysis is the most comprehensive UN opinion to date, but this body is independent and does not officially represent the position of the entire United Nations. The UN has not yet used the term “genocide” but is under increasing pressure to do so.
The scale of the conflict
The Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, claimed the lives of 1,200 people and led to the taking of 251 hostages, according to Israeli data. The subsequent war in Gaza claimed the lives of more than 64,000 people, but this figure may be an underestimate.
Israel’s actions have also caused mass starvation in Gaza, which, according to UN estimates, will turn into a famine by the end of September.
And this morning , Israel launched an offensive on Gaza City.
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