Two major Israeli human rights groups have stated that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHRI) both published separate reports on Monday in which they accused Israel of genocidal crimes and incitement to genocide.
In its report, B’Tselem examined Israel’s policies in Gaza and statements made by senior Israeli politicians and military commanders on its goals in the enclave. It led the group to “the unequivocal conclusion that Israel is taking coordinated action to intentionally destroy Palestinian society in the Gaza Strip”.
The report includes statistical analysis, as well as personal testimonies and documentation of crimes and incitement.
“Nothing prepares you for the realisation that you are part of a society committing genocide. This is a deeply painful moment for us,” said Yuli Novak, the group’s executive director.
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“But as Israelis and Palestinians who live here and witness the reality every day, we have a duty to speak the truth as clearly as possible: Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians.”
Novak said that the Hamas-led surprise attack on 7 October 2023, which killed around 1,200 Israelis, “created deep existential fear among Israelis”.
“The extremist, far-right messianic government is using that fear to promote an agenda of destruction and expulsion,” she said.
“The lives of all Palestinians, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, are being treated as worthless. They can be starved, killed, displaced – and the situation keeps getting worse.”
Meanwhile, PHRI’s report presented a detailed legal analysis on Israel’s war on Gaza, focusing on the dismantling of Gaza’s healthcare system.
It stated that Israel’s aggression meets the criteria for genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, to which Israel is a signatory.
This is a developing story…
