Amnesty International’s New Report Finds Genocide Against Palestinians In Gaza
(ANALYSIS) On Dec. 5, Amnesty International, a nongovernmental organization, published a new report analyzing the situation of Palestinians in Gaza.
The report, “You Feel Like You Are Subhuman,” finds that the atrocities perpetrated against Palestinians in Gaza amount to genocide. Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International, commented: “Taking into account the pre-existing context of dispossession, apartheid and unlawful military occupation in which these acts have been committed, we could find only one reasonable conclusion: Israel's intent is the physical destruction of Palestinians in Gaza, whether in parallel with, or as a means to achieve, its military goal of destroying Hamas.”
Genocide is defined in Article II of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention) as prohibited acts committed against a protected group (whether national, ethnic, racial or religious group) with the specific intent to destroy the group in whole or in part. This specific intent to destroy is an element of the crime that is often very difficult to prove.
This is not the first time Israel has been accused of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Indeed, this allegation was the foundation of the proceedings brought by South Africa before the International Court of Justice (the ICJ).
On Dec. 29, 2023, South Africa filed an application instituting proceedings against Israel before the ICJ, concerning alleged violations by Israel of its obligations under the Genocide Convention in relation to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The application alleged that “acts and omissions by Israel ... are genocidal in character, as they are committed with the requisite specific intent ... to destroy Palestinians in Gaza as a part of the broader Palestinian national, racial and ethnic group” and that “the conduct of Israel — through its State organs, State agents, and other persons and entities acting on its instructions or under its direction, control or influence — in relation to Palestinians in Gaza, is in violation of its obligations under the Genocide Convention.”
The ICJ issued provisional measures on a number of occasions, calling upon Israel to refrain from the acts South Africa alleged in their submission.
Protesters in Washington call for peace in Gaza. (Photo courtesy Pax Christi USA)
The new report of Amnesty International considers the events between Oct. 7, 2023, and early July 2024, and relies on interviews with 212 people, including Palestinian victims/survivors and witnesses, local authorities in Gaza and health care workers.
In preparation of the report, Amnesty International is said to have conducted fieldwork and analyzed an extensive range of visual and digital evidence, including satellite imagery. It also analyzed statements by senior Israeli government and military officials and official Israeli bodies.
Amnesty International indicated that on multiple occasions, it shared its findings with the Israeli authorities but had received no substantive response at the time of publication.
As the new report states, “Israel’s actions following Hamas' deadly attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, have brought Gaza’s population to the brink of collapse. Its brutal military offensive had killed more than 42,000 Palestinians, including over 13,300 children, and injured over 97,000 more, by October 7, many of them in direct or deliberately indiscriminate attacks, often wiping out entire multigenerational families.”
It further adds: “It has caused unprecedented destruction, which experts say occurred at a level and speed not seen in any other conflict in the 21st century, leveling entire cities and destroying critical infrastructure, agricultural land and cultural and religious sites. It thereby rendered large swathes of Gaza uninhabitable.”
Amnesty International claims that Israel imposed conditions of life in Gaza that created a deadly mixture of malnutrition, hunger and diseases, and exposed Palestinians to a slow, calculated death.
It further added, “Viewed in isolation, some of the acts investigated by Amnesty International constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law or international human rights law. But in looking at the broader picture of Israel's military campaign and the cumulative impact of its policies and acts, genocidal intent is the only reasonable conclusion.”
Amnesty International calls upon the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to consider the allegations of genocide within the charges against Israeli leaders.
On Nov. 21, Pre-Trial Chamber I of the ICC issued warrants of arrest for Mr Benjamin Netanyahu, prime minister of Israel at the time of the relevant conduct, and Mr Yoav Gallant, minister of defense of Israel at the time of the alleged conduct.
They were indicted with crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least Oct. 8, 2023, until at least May 20, 2024. However, the crime of genocide was not included at the time.
As the situation of Palestinians in Gaza is considered by the ICJ and ICC, evidence as this collected by Amnesty International and other organizations will be put to a strict legal test against the legal definitions of the crimes, and as supported by established jurisprudence about the elements of the crimes.
Understandably, the ICJ will take years to make any determination. The ICC will be able to proceed only if the arrest warrants are executed and those accused of international crimes come before the court. This may take years, if at all. Independently of the progress with the ICJ or ICC, the horrific atrocities must end.
This piece was republished from Forbes with permission.
Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab is a human rights advocate, author and co-founder of the Coalition for Genocide Response. She’s authored the book “Never Again: Legal Responses to a Broken Promise in the Middle East” and more than 30 UN reports. She works on the topic of genocide and persecution of ethnic and religious minorities around the world. She is on X @EwelinaUO.