UN rapporteur accuses Israel of committing multiple 'acts of genocide' in Gaza

The UN Special Rapporteur for the Palestinian territories affirmed that there are "logical reasons" to say that Israel has committed numerous "acts of genocide" in a report published on Monday, also noting "ethnic cleansing."

Francesca Albanese stated in her report, which she will present to the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday, that "the nature and overwhelming scale of the Israeli assault on Gaza, and the devastating living conditions it has caused, reveal an intention to destroy Palestinians as a group physically."

In the report titled "Anatomy of a Genocide," the expert concluded that "there are logical reasons to say that the threshold indicating acts of genocide" committed "against Palestinians in Gaza" has been reached.

In her conclusions, the rapporteur listed three types of genocide acts: "killing members of the group, causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group, and deliberately imposing living conditions on the group that would lead to its complete or partial physical destruction."

Here, three out of five genocide acts included in the law on the prevention of genocide and protection from it are meant.

Israeli representatives to the United Nations in Geneva declared their "complete rejection of the report" and stated in a statement that it constitutes part of "a campaign aimed at undermining the very existence of the Jewish state."

Albanese added that "Israel's war is against Hamas, not against Palestinian civilians."

In response to Albanese's report, a US official told Agence France-Presse on Monday that the United States has "no reason to believe" that Israel has committed acts of genocide in Gaza.

The US official, requesting anonymity, said, "We reiterate our long-standing rejection of the mandate given to this biased special rapporteur against Israel."

Israel announced on February 12th that it had barred Albanese from entering its territory after statements she made about the October 7th attack, which Israeli authorities deemed "anti-Semitic."

Albanese also affirmed in her report that "images of civilian casualties after their displacement to the south (of Gaza), accompanied by statements from some senior Israeli officials announcing their intention to forcibly displace Palestinians from Gaza and replace them with Israeli settlers, logically lead to the conclusion that eviction orders and security zones were used as tools to carry out genocide, leading to ethnic cleansing."

The report continued, "Genocide acts were approved and implemented following statements expressing an intention to commit genocide, issued by senior military and government officials."

The rapporteur accused Israel of treating "an entire group" and the infrastructure it uses as "terrorist" or "terror-supporting," thereby turning everyone into a target or collateral damage.

Albanese affirmed in her report that "Israeli genocide against Palestinians in Gaza is an additional phase in a long process undertaken by settlers."

AFP