The growing consensus that Israel is committing genocide |
A United Nations commission published a 72-page report on Tuesday that concluded Israel has committed a genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
“It is clear that there is an intent to destroy the Palestinians in Gaza through acts that meet the criteria set forth in the Genocide Convention,” said Navi Pillay, chair of the commission. The commission’s findings specifically determined that Israel has perpetrated at least four of the five acts of genocide as defined by the 1948 Geneva Convention.
The report adds yet another voice to the growing consensus that Israel’s military campaign in Gaza constitutes a genocide. Leading international, Palestinian, and Israeli human rights organizations have already released reports saying so. More recently, the International Association of Genocide Scholars passed a resolution that stated the same conclusion. They have been joined by at least 20 members of Congress who have called the war in Gaza a genocide.
The two latest members of Congress to make that statement did so after the UN commission’s report was released. “The intent is clear. The conclusion is inescapable: Israel is committing genocide in Gaza,” Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders wrote in an op-ed on Wednesday. In another op-ed, Rep. Becca Balint, a Democrat from Vermont, echoed the sentiment.
“Today, I believe the Israeli government is committing a genocide against the Palestinian people,” Balint wrote. “As the granddaughter of a man murdered in the Holocaust, it is not easy for me to say that. But the trauma of the Holocaust serves as a reminder of the power of speaking out.”
This growing consensus comes as Israel faces more and more pressure from the........