
New York [US], September 16 (ANI): A United Nations commission of inquiry has concluded that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
A new report by the world body stated there are reasonable grounds to believe that four of the five genocidal acts defined under international law have been carried out since the war with Hamas began in 2023: killing members of a group, causing serious bodily and mental harm, deliberately inflicting conditions calculated to destroy the group, and imposing measures intended to prevent births.
The report cited statements by Israeli leaders and patterns of conduct by Israeli forces as evidence of genocidal intent. The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel urged Israel and all countries to fulfil their obligations under international law to end the genocide and hold those responsible to account.
“The Commission finds that Israel is responsible for the commission of genocide in Gaza,” said Navi Pillay, Chair of the Commission. “It is clear there is an intent to destroy the Palestinians in Gaza through acts that meet the criteria set forth in the Genocide Convention,” he added.
At a press conference in Geneva, the panel’s members — who are not UN staff but were appointed by the Human Rights Council’s 47 member states — explained that their investigation into the Gaza war, beginning with the Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023, led to the conclusion that Israeli authorities and security forces had committed four of the five genocidal acts defined by the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry categorically rejected the report, denouncing it as “distorted and false,” according to Al Jazeera. (ANI)