According to The UN Genocide Convention, Israel is Committing Genocide in Gaza.

A Quick Thought on the Gaza Crisis.

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In Solidarity — Joe

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A neighborhood in Gaza ravaged by Israeli bombs.

There’s been much debate about whether or not Israel’s attacks on Gaza constitute a genocide. Those critical of President Biden’s support for Israel are calling him “Genocide Joe,” while others are denying the charge with statements like these:

Fortunately, there’s an internationally recognized definition of “genocide” that provides clarity.

On December 9th, 1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations ratified its first human rights treaty, The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Commonly referred to as “The Genocide Convention,” the treaty defined genocide and identified its tactics. It reads:

In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:

1. Killing members of the group;

2. Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;

3. Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;

4. Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;

5. Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

It’s important to call out that the treaty specifies a genocide is occurring if any of these five acts are committed, meaning only one needs to be present for it to fit the definition. The treaty also states that genocide intends to destroy a group “in whole or in part,” meaning not every member of the group needs to be killed for it to be genocide.

Let’s compare Israel’s ongoing attack on Gaza to this definition to determine if Israel is committing genocide.

Intent

For something to be a genocide, it must be committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group. Through recent statements from its representatives, Israel has made its intent clear.

Here is a video of Israel’s former ambassador to Italy stating:

“For us (Israel) there is only one objective: Destroy Gaza! Destroy this absolute evil!”

francesco.mazzarini

A post shared by @francesco.mazzarini

In saying so, the former ambassador clarifies that Israel intends to destroy the nation of Palestine and the racial group (Palestinians) that resides there. Notice he is not saying that Israel intends to destroy Hamas, nor is he saying their military strikes are intended to protect Israelis.

Further proof of Israel’s intent to kill Gazans is seen in a recent interview with an IDF soldier. At the 4:30 mark of this video, the soldier states that:

“The war is not just with Hamas, but with all the civilians.”

As Israeli military and government officials alike have stated they intend to destroy Palestinian citizens — not just the military branch of Hamas — this satisfies the intent clause laid out in The Genocide Convention’s definition of genocide.

Acts

With intent established, we can look at Israel’s acts to see if they constitute genocide. Remember, only one of these acts needs to be present for it to be a genocide.

1. Killing members of the group;

2. Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;

As of October 26th, the Gaza Ministry of Health calculates the total death toll of Gazans at 7,082, including 2,913 children. If one doubts the Ministry of Health’s figures, we can use Israel’s, which claimed to drop 400 bombs on Gaza on October 24th and 320 bombs on October 23rd. No matter which side we believe, it is clear Israel is both killing members of the group and causing serious bodily harm to members of the group.

This satisfies both acts numbers 1 and 2 of The Genocide Convention.

3. Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;

This act has been ongoing for over a decade, as Israel and Egypt have blockaded Gaza since 2005, preventing Gazans from getting sufficient food and water. In 2006, Dov Weisglass, a senior advisor to the Israeli Prime Minister, stated it was national policy to “put the Palestinians on a diet, but not to make them die of hunger.” In 2012 it was revealed that Israel was literally counting the calories allowed into Gaza, allowing in just enough food to keep Gazans hungry without fully starving the population.

This satisfies act number 3 of The Genocide Convention.

4. Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;

I could not find any outright admission by Israel that it intends to decrease Gazan birthrates. That said, the blockade on Gaza has long prevented medical supplies, including that necessary for prenatal care, from entering the region. Additionally, Israel’s imposed power outage, threats to hospitals, and relentless bombing campaign are putting approximately 50,000 pregnant Palestinian women at risk.

Though it is not as clear as Israel’s violations of acts 1, 2, and 3, I would argue this satisfies act number 4 of The Genocide Convention.

5. Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

I could find no evidence Israel is transferring Palestinian children out of Gaza, or the occupied West Bank, for that matter.

Anecdotally, this statement from Benjamin Netanyahu sheds light on Israel’s genocidal intent.

Conclusion

As Israeli officials have admitted they intend to destroy Gaza and its residents, and Israel is committing three (or even four) of the five acts outlined in The Genocide Convention, it is objectively accurate to say Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

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