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The UN investigation into Israel has simply confirmed what we all knew

Today, 16 September, the United Nations (UN) officially confirmed that Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute a genocide. The rights probe was carried out by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel. Its investigators were appointed independently by the Human Rights Council (HRC).

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has previously stated that almost million people are living in a state of famine in Gaza City. They have to endure daily bombardment and “compromised access to means of survival” due to Israeli’s displacement order.

UN report into Israel: genocidal acts

The new investigation centered on Israel’s conduct starting from the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack. It examined allegations that Israel had blocked humanitarian aid, targeted children, systematically destroyed healthcare and education systems, and used sexual- and gender-based violence against the Palestinian people.

Investigation chair Navi Pillay stated that:

The Commission finds that Israel is responsible for the commission of genocide 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.

The UN is also far from the first organisation to declare that Israel is committing genocide:

The commission judged Israel’s actions against a list of five genocidal acts. These were defined in the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Israel was found to have committed four of these five acts: killing, causing serious bodily or mental harm, imposing measures to prevent births, and deliberately inflicting life conditions meant to bring about the destruction of the Palestinian people.

‘Cannot stay silent’

The UN has a reputation for its labyrinthine bureaucracy and hesitancy in decision-making. Given this, some commentators on Twitter/X spoke about how it would be difficult for officials to deny the genocide at this point:

 

Investigator Pillay was clear about the duties of the international community at this point:

The international community cannot stay silent on the genocidal campaign launched by Israel against the Palestinian people in Gaza.

When clear signs and evidence of genocide emerge, the absence of action to stop it amounts to complicity.

All States are under a legal obligation to use all means that are reasonably available to them to stop the genocide in Gaza.

At least some UK MPs heeded Pillay’s words:

 

UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese also pointed out that, rather than opposing the genocide, Western governments like our own here in the UK are aiding and abetting Israel’s crimes. Because of her criticisms of Israel, Albanese was the first UN official ever to be sanctioned by the US government.

Only last week, (now former) foreign secretary David Lammy wrote in a letter that the UK government had not confirmed that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza. He also stated that the UK’s continuing supply of arms to Israel was not a breach of international law.

One thing has been abundantly clear for a long time now. The UK is directly involved in Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people. The UN’s report only serves to further underscore this fact.

As Pillay stated, all states have a legal duty to stop this atrocity. Beyond this, it is our duty as the people of the UK to hold our government accountable for making all of us complicit.

Featured image via the Canary

By Alex/Rose Cocker

This post was originally published on Canary.