More researchers point to genocide by Israel: ‘Gaza no longer exists’

• Eliane Lamper

  Foreign editor

“Yes, this is a genocide,” prominent Israeli historian Amos Goldberg wrote in one this spring essay. It is now clear, according to more experts and organizations, that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian population in Gaza. Amnesty International was the first major human rights organization to reach this conclusion last week.

According to Amnesty, Israel’s intention is to “partially or completely destroy” the Palestinians in Gaza. The army kills and injures Palestinians and creates inhumane living conditions by destroying infrastructure, issuing mass evacuation orders and obstructing humanitarian aid, the 300-page report reads. research report.

The word genocide is used more and more often. Last month one special committee of the UN has determined that Israel’s warfare exhibits characteristics of genocide. In his recently published book, Pope Francis calls for an investigation into whether Israel is guilty of genocide. The UN Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, will speak there for months by.

Israeli researchers are also speaking out. After a month of war in Gaza warned Israeli Holocaust historian Omer Bartov said Israel’s violence in Gaza had to be stopped. “There is still time to stop Israel from turning its actions into genocide. We cannot wait a moment longer.” He also speaks now of genocide.

At the beginning of this year, fifty Israeli researchers signed a letter calling on the chairman of Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial, to speak out against politicians who “incite extermination.” Dehumanizing Palestinians can lead to committing genocide, they argue. “This is an important lesson that humanity learned from the Holocaust.”

They point to language used by Israeli politicians, which is also mentioned in Amnesty’s report and which could possibly be used as evidence. Israeli President Herzog said shortly after the Hamas terror attack that there are “no innocent civilians in Gaza.” Politicians, army leaders and soldiers spoke about total destruction of Gaza. Ministers have called for an ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.

“Every genocide looks different and not every genocide kills millions or the entire group,” thus Amos Goldberg, professor at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He points to massacres, expulsions, mass graves, executions and the “near total destruction of infrastructure, deliberate starvation and blocking of humanitarian aid”.

Large parts of Gaza have been completely destroyed by the army, including houses, mosques, cemeteries, archives, courts, bakeries, markets and schools. All universities have been destroyed, as have almost all hospitals. Goldberg speaks of a genocide, “because Gaza no longer exists”. An outcome that he believes was intended by Israel’s leaders.

Judges must determine whether genocide has been committed according to legal standards. A year ago, South Africa started a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Shortly afterwards, the court issued an interim judgment calling on Israel to do everything to prevent genocide. The court also ruled that there is a risk that the right of Palestinians to be protected from genocide will be “irreparably violated”.

It may take many years before the court reaches a final ruling. The most recent genocide verdicts concerned the genocides in Rwanda and Srebrenica, which were committed in the 1990s. “That shows that genocide can almost never be proven legally,” says Iva Vukusic, historian and genocide researcher at Utrecht University.

It leads to discussion among researchers about the definition. “If it can almost never be proven legally, the question is how useful the term is,” says Vukusic. “States have an obligation to prevent and punish genocide, but that willingness is often not there. After the Holocaust we said ‘never again’, but it happens again and again.”

In order to be convicted of genocide, it must be shown that the perpetrators want to destroy, in whole or in part, a group based on race, ethnicity, nationality or religion. That is very difficult, because for judges that intention must be proven beyond doubt. Reports can play a role in this.

Just like organizations, politicians also speak of genocide without a verdict. For example, in 2021, the House of Representatives labeled the crimes committed by IS against the Yazidis in Iraq as genocide, in recognition of the victims and to exert political pressure. The United States recognizes the oppression of the Rohingya in Myanmar as genocide. In both cases no legal ruling had been made.

There is a lot of criticism in Israel about the accusation of genocide. The Foreign Ministry called Amnesty’s report “false and based on lies.” Israel consistently says that it is fighting Hamas and that it is doing a lot to prevent civilian casualties. The controversial rhetoric is said to have been taken out of context or not followed up with orders by commanders.

The Israeli branch of Amnesty worked not included with the report and called the conclusion premature. This is in contrast to Palestinians in Gaza: they have been saying for a year that genocide is being committed against their people.