Amman: Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory said in a new report today.
According to Oman News Agency, the Commission urged Israel and all countries to fulfil their legal obligations under international law to end the genocide and punish those responsible. The Commission stated in a press release published on the United Nations News website that it has been investigating the events since October 7, 2023, for the last two years. It concluded that Israeli authorities and security forces committed four of the five genocidal acts defined by the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. These acts include killing, causing serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of Palestinians, and imposing measures intended to prevent births.
Explicit statements by Israeli civilian and military au
thorities, along with the pattern of conduct by Israeli security forces, indicate that these genocidal acts were committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as a group, the report added.
In the same context, Chair of the Commission Navi Pillay stated, “The Commission finds that Israel is responsible for the commission of genocide in Gaza.” Pillay further commented that the responsibility for these atrocity crimes lies with the highest echelons of Israeli authorities, who have orchestrated a genocidal campaign with the specific intent to destroy the Palestinian group in Gaza over nearly two years.
The Commission noted Israel’s failure to prevent and punish the commission of genocide, citing a lack of investigation into genocidal acts and prosecution of alleged perpetrators. It urged the Israeli government to comply immediately with international legal obligations, including ending the genocide in the Gaza Strip and fully implementing the provisional measures orde
rs of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
The Commission also called on Israel to end its policy of man-made starvation, lift the siege, and facilitate unimpeded access to humanitarian aid and United Nations staff. Additionally, it recommended that Member States cease the transfer of arms and equipment that might be used for genocidal acts to Israel and ensure that individuals and corporations within their territories are not involved in aiding genocide.
Navi Pillay emphasized the urgent need for international action, stating, “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.” She warned that every day of inaction costs lives and erodes the credibility of the international community, urging all States to use reasonable means to stop the genocide in Gaza.