Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, scholars' association says

The world's leading genocide scholars' association has passed a resolution saying that the legal criteria have been met to establish Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, its president said on Monday.

Eighty-six percent of those who voted among the 500-member International Association of Genocide Scholars backed the resolution declaring: "Israel’s policies and actions in Gaza meet the legal definition of genocide in Article II of the United Nations Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948)."

There was no immediate response from the Israeli foreign ministry. Israel has in the past strongly denied that its actions in Gaza amount to genocide and says they are justified as self-defence. It is fighting a case at the International Court of Justice in the Hague that accuses it of genocide.

In Gaza, Hamas welcomed the resolution: "This prestigious scholarly stance reinforces the documented evidence and facts presented before international courts," said Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office.

The resolution "places a legal and moral obligation on the international community to take urgent action to stop the crime, protect civilians, and hold the leaders of the occupation accountable," he said.

Since its founding in 1994, the genocide scholars' association has passed nine resolutions recognising historic or ongoing episodes as genocides.

The three-page resolution adopted by the scholars calls on Israel to "immediately cease all acts that constitute genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity against Palestinians in Gaza, including deliberate attacks against and killing of civilians including children; starvation; deprivation of humanitarian aid, water, fuel, and other items essential to the survival of the population; sexual and reproductive violence; and forced displacement of the population."

The resolution also states that the Hamas attack on Israel, which precipitated the war, constituted international crimes.

Reuters