Harun Nasrullah
Israeli authorities are responsible for “war crimes and crimes against humanity” committed during the military operations and attacks in Gaza since October 7, 2023, UN-backed commission said in a report released on June 12.
The UN Independent International Commission report, delivered at the Human Rights Council’s session on June 19 in Geneva, draws from remote interviews with victims and eyewitnesses as well as on-site investigations in Turkey and Egypt.
It includes verified data from thousands of open-source items, advanced forensic analysis, hundreds of submissions, satellite imagery, and forensic medical reports. The commission highlighted that Israel impeded its investigations and denied access to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
The Commission found that Israeli authorities are responsible for “the war crimes of starvation as a method of warfare, murder or wilful killing, intentionally directing attacks against civilians and civilian objects, forcible transfer, sexual violence, torture, inhuman or cruel treatment, arbitrary detention, and outrages upon personal dignity.”
The Commission determined that crimes against humanity, including extermination, gender persecution targeting Palestinian men and boys, murder, forcible transfer, torture, and inhuman/cruel treatment, were committed.
The Commission also concluded that the significant non-combatant casualties and extensive destruction of civilian objects and infrastructure in Gaza resulted from a deliberate strategy aimed at causing maximum damage, ignoring principles of distinction, proportionality, and adequate precautions.
The deliberate use of powerful weapons in densely populated areas is viewed as a direct and intentional assault on the civilian population. The report said Israeli officials’ statements “amounted to incitement and may constitute other serious international crimes,” adding that incitement to genocide is a crime under international law whenever perpetrated.
The Commission criticised Israel’s evacuation orders as “insufficient, unclear, and conflicting,” noting they did not allow adequate time for safe evacuations. Israeli forces frequently targeted evacuation routes and designated safe areas, the Commission also stated. It concluded that these actions constituted a forcible transfer.
The Commission accused Israel of imposing a “total siege” that it viewed as collective punishment against the civilian population. It was alleged that Israeli authorities weaponized the siege by manipulating access to life-sustaining essentials such as water, food, electricity, fuel, and humanitarian aid for strategic and political purposes. It emphasised that the blockade has had a disproportionate impact on pregnant women and individuals with disabilities, which has resulted in serious harm to children and preventable deaths from starvation, including newborns.
Regarding the acts in the West Bank, the Commission found that Israel committed “acts of sexual violence, torture, inhuman or cruel treatment, and outrages upon personal dignity, all of which are war crimes.” Furthermore, the Commission concluded that the Israeli government and military “permitted, fostered, and instigated” a pattern of settler aggression against Palestinian communities in the West Bank.
In its recommendations, the Commission urged Israel to take immediate actions, including implementing a ceasefire, lifting the Gaza blockade to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid, and ceasing attacks on civilians and infrastructure. Additionally, the Commission called on Tel Aviv to fully comply with its legal obligations under the International Court of Justice’s provisional measures issued on January 26, March 28, and May 24, specifically allowing the commission access to Gaza for conducting investigations.
The Commission also recommended that all parties to the Rome Statute cooperate fully with the International Criminal Court.
“Israel must immediately stop its military operations and attacks in Gaza, including the assault on Rafah, which has cost the lives of hundreds of civilians and again displaced hundreds of thousands of people to unsafe locations without basic services and humanitarian assistance,” Navi Pillay, Chair of the Commission, said in a press release.
The Israeli mission to the UN in Geneva immediately criticised the report, calling it “biassed.”
“Israel rejects the abhorrent and immoral accusations levelled against the IDF, both regarding the military operation in Gaza and its initial response against Hamas terrorists in Israel,” the mission stated, asserting that the military adheres to international law, including humanitarian law. Meirav Eilon Shahar, Israel’s permanent representative to the UN, accused the Commission of being in the “service of a narrow-led political agenda against Israel.”
The Commission also attributed responsibility to the military wing of Hamas and six other Palestinian armed groups for “war crimes including intentionally targeting civilians, murder, torture, inhuman treatment, property destruction, outrages against personal dignity, and hostage-taking, including children,” about the October 7 attack in Israel. It emphasised that the indiscriminate firing of thousands of projectiles towards Israeli towns and cities, resulting in civilian deaths and injuries, constitutes violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.
The Commission urged the Palestinian Authority and Gaza authorities to immediately halt rocket attacks on the Jewish state, release all hostages unconditionally, and thoroughly investigate and prosecute those responsible for crimes committed since October 7 by Palestinian non-state armed groups in Israel.
Pillay emphasised that Hamas and Palestinian armed groups must cease rocket attacks and hostage-taking, which constitute war crimes. Emphasising accountability for all perpetrators, she stated that strict adherence to international law is crucial to halting cycles of violence and retaliation.
Credit: @PalestineRCS, X
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