- UN rapporteur accuses Israel of “acts of genocide” in Gaza
- Report ignites tension between Israel and UN Human Rights Council
- Diplomatic fallout ensues as Israel rejects genocide accusation
According to one UN human rights expert, Israel has carried out “acts of genocide” in Gaza.
On Tuesday in Geneva, Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, delivered her report to the organization’s member states.
Israel, however, has already disregarded her findings.
This occurs as international pressure on Israel to cease the conflict or significantly increase its efforts to safeguard civilians increases.
Ms. Albanese concluded that there exist justifiable grounds to suspect that the criterion implicating the collective perpetration of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza has been fulfilled.
Israeli envoys derided Ms. Albanese’s discoveries as “an outrageous distortion of the Genocide Convention” before she even rose to her feet.
Israel has been enraged for years by the UN Human Rights Council’s agenda, which devotes an entire section (Item 7) to monitoring the situation in “Palestine and the other occupied Arab territories” permanently.
Decades ago, UN member states (and not the United Nations) ratified the agenda item, which has never expired. Israel considers such perpetual scrutiny, which is not imposed on any other nation globally, to be discriminatory and to undermine Israel’s legitimacy. It declines to be present at the council during the deliberation of Item 7.
However, many nations, especially those in the Middle East, contend that the situation—in the absence of Palestinian self-determination via a two-state solution—requires ongoing investigation. This is especially true because another conflict has broken out.
Following the brutal assault on Israel by Hamas on October 7, Ms. Albanese has consistently advocated for the detainees’ release, and she reiterates this demand in this report. She vehemently condemns the atrocities that Hamas and other Palestinian armed organizations perpetrated against Israel on October 7.
However, she has also expressed her disapproval of Israel’s management of the Gaza conflict in an open and frank manner.
“Constitution of a Genocide”
Consequently, her report has generated anticipation and impatience.
Its title, “Anatomy of a Genocide,” which Ms. Albanese selected, was not precisely diplomatic. Many member states will feel uneasy, particularly those that have historically supported Israel.
UN special rapporteurs are independent of the organization despite being assigned by it to examine and advise on particular situations.
Genocide is a legally defined term, and according to Ms. Albanese’s report, specific legal requirements have been met.
A key clause in the Convention against Genocide, she cites what she claims to be Israel’s intent to eliminate Palestinians “in whole or in part” as a collective.
She highlights three specific indicators that suggest the potential occurrence of genocide:
Assassinating individuals within the group
Imparting severe physical or psychological injury to individuals comprising the group
Intentionally subjecting a group to life-threatening conditions with the intent to destroy it in whole or in part physically
The report asserts that the death toll in Gaza, which is currently well over 32,000 according to the health ministry operated by Hamas in Gaza, the bombing of densely populated areas, and the restrictions on aid supplies (which, according to the United Nations, have brought Gaza to the verge of famine) are all indications that the group is intended to be destroyed.
Palestinian Greetings
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights Basel Alsourani approved the report. Although he suggested that all parties involved in this conflict had violated international law, he maintained that genocide was an atrocity so grave that the international community could not disregard it.
Permitting genocide to occur, he continued, affects every human being in the world, not just Palestinians.
If Israel is currently perpetrating genocide without consequence, who knows which nation will accuse Israel of genocide tomorrow; therefore, it is permissible for me to commit genocide without consequence.
Tala Nasir, a Palestinian human rights attorney who accompanied the report to Geneva, expressed her desire that it would increase awareness regarding the plight of the tens of thousands of individuals detained by Israel since October 7, according to her estimation.
She stated that over 7,700 Palestinians have been detained.
A significant proportion of them—80%—are presently undergoing administrative detention, signifying they are not facing any charges.
She noted that their families had no communication and were unaware of their whereabouts.
Israel’s ire
The anger of Israeli diplomats is unsurprising. Meirav Eilon Shahar, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, characterized the report as “a ludicrous distortion of reality” and charged Ms. Albanese with undermining the country’s legitimacy.
Additionally, numerous Israelis are probably stunned. And the proposition of genocide directed at a nation that was established as a direct consequence of the Holocaust of Jews by Nazi Germany will provoke grave offense.
It is difficult to hear such vehement condemnation in the aftermath of the October 7 attack when so many Israeli families are still awaiting word on the whereabouts of family members who have been taken hostage.
Additionally, Chaim Noam Peri, whose father was abducted, traveled to Geneva. Her natural concern is to ensure that her father is not neglected.
She stated, “My father was abducted from his residence.”
“He, an individual in his eighties, was sitting in his residence with my mother when he was forcibly removed and has essentially vanished ever since.” “He is incapable of communicating with anyone in the entire world.”
The United Nations Security Council’s vote this week for an immediate ceasefire demonstrates, however, that member states are becoming increasingly impatient with Israel’s conduct of the conflict.
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Too many reputable UN aid organizations have issued dire warnings that there is no safety in Gaza, that families are now consuming vegetation or animal feed, and that children are undergoing amputations without anesthesia.
All agree that Israel is limiting vital aid supplies, and governments have begun to question Israel’s assertion that the United Nations is responsible for the delays.
Although Francesca Albanese’s word selection may differ from everyone’s liking, the substance of her report will increase the pressure on Israel to alter its approach.
