{"id":283953,"date":"2025-01-06T12:00:24","date_gmt":"2025-01-06T12:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=283953"},"modified":"2024-12-31T05:31:59","modified_gmt":"2024-12-31T05:31:59","slug":"genocide-emergency-gaza-and-the-west-bank-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2025\/01\/genocide-emergency-gaza-and-the-west-bank-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Genocide Emergency: Gaza and the West Bank 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"
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“There is nothing left!” – Middle East Eye, credit AFP<\/p><\/div>\n

30 Dec 2024 <\/em>– A genocide of the Palestinian people by Israel is underway in Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu <\/a>and Defense Minister General Yoav Gallant <\/a>have demonstrated their intent<\/a> to destroy<\/a> a substantial portion of the civilian population of Gaza. Israel is committing war crimes<\/a>, crimes against humanity<\/a>, and genocide<\/a> in Gaza. It is also committing crimes against humanity against Palestinians in the West Bank.<\/span><\/p>\n

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On\u00a0October 7, 2023,<\/a>\u00a0Hamas massacred over 1200 civilians in Israel and kidnapped over 250 hostages. The hostages have been tortured, beaten, or murdered.\u00a062<\/a>\u00a0remain hostage in Gaza.\u00a0117 hostages<\/a>\u00a0have been rescued or released, and 72 <\/a>died or were murdered by Hamas.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Hamas openly declares its\u00a0intent to destroy <\/a>the nation of Israel and the Jewish people. Hamas is a genocidal terrorist organization that must be defeated. Israel\u2019s response to the Hamas assault on its citizens is a military response to what Israelis see as an existential threat reminiscent of the Holocaust.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Defeating genocidal terrorists does not justify\u00a0<\/a>committing genocide against Palestinian civilians.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Israeli leaders have led a\u00a0dehumanizing<\/a>\u00a0campaign of anti-Palestinian propaganda that denies any distinction between Hamas combatants and Palestinian civilians. Netanyahu and Gallant claim that Hamas hides under hospitals and among Palestinian civilians, using them as human shields<\/a>. It is an attempt to justify the bombing and starvation of Palestinian civilians. It is an excuse for war crimes.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Israel\u2019s rules of engagement permit killing twenty civilians<\/a> for each Hamas fighter killed, the highest \u201ccollateral damage\u201d percentage in any modern war. These rules of engagement give Israeli Air Force and IDF troops a license to commit war crimes on the pretext of defeating Hamas.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Ignoring demands of Israelis to prioritize freeing Israeli hostages<\/a>, Netanyahu portrays opposition to Israeli bombing in Gaza as a pro-Hamas campaign to destroy Israel itself. Netanyahu\u2019s claims that the UN, ICC, and protests against Israel\u2019s war crimes are \u201cantisemitic,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0conflate opposition to Israel with antisemitism.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Genocide<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The UN estimates that 45,000<\/a> Palestinians and 1500<\/a>\u00a0Israelis have died since October 7, 2024. Over 14,500<\/a> of the dead were children. To deny these statistics, Israel uses two classic tactics of denial <\/a>: attack the truth tellers and minimize the statistics. Israel claims Hamas and UN figures are unreliable exaggerations.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Israeli bombs intentionally target schools<\/a>,\u00a0homes<\/a>,\u00a0hospitals<\/a>, and designated\u00a0humanitarian zones<\/a>. Israel uses \u00a02000-pound bombs<\/a>\u00a0that level entire apartment buildings and throw shrapnel that \u00a0kills and maims people 360 meters away. Of 163,778<\/a> buildings in Gaza, 52,564<\/a> have been destroyed and 18,913<\/a> severely damaged.\u00a0\u00a0Two-thirds<\/a> of the dwellings in Gaza are uninhabitable.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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2 million<\/a> Palestinians\u00a0in Gaza are on the brink of starvation<\/a>. Israel has blocked over\u00a0<\/a>eighty percent<\/a> of food aid\u00a0from entering Gaza since the start of the war. Israel claims it has permitted enough food aid, but it is stolen by Hamas. This LIE is propaganda to convince Israelis that Israel is obeying the laws of war. It is not. The truth is that Israel has allowed under twenty percent<\/a>\u00a0of necessary food to be delivered to Gaza.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Starvation and killing members of an ethnic or national group violate Genocide Convention Article 2(a)\u00a0and <\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0Article 2(c) <\/a>\u201cKilling members of the group\u201d and \u201cDeliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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War crimes<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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All hospitals in Gaza have been bombed by Israel on the pretext that Hamas uses them as bases.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Northern Gaza<\/a>\u00a0has collapsed, with food aid\u00a0blocked<\/a>\u00a0and thousands of residents facing famine. The UN reports that hospitals<\/a> lack water, fuel, staff, and medical supplies.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Directing attacks against hospitals is a war crime that violates\u00a0ICC statute Article 8(2)(b)(ix).<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Israeli Defense Forces may be intentionally targeting<\/a>\u00a0media<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0aid groups<\/a>. Since 2023,\u00a0at least 341<\/a>\u00a0aid workers have been killed by Israeli bombing or shelling. Israel has\u00a0refused<\/a>\u00a0to lift restrictions on desperately needed goods and services entering Gaza and has failed to provide more aid crossings. Access by aid workers is\u00a0increasingly difficult<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cIntentionally directing attacks against personnel, installations, material, units, or vehicles involved in a humanitarian or peacekeeping mission\u201d is a war crime under ICC statute Article 8(2)(b)(iii)<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Crimes against humanity<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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1.9 million Palestinians<\/a>, most of the population of Gaza, have been forcibly displaced. Palestinians are ordered to evacuate from one \u201csafe area\u201d to another, then ordered to move again. Many were ordered to move south to escape bombing in the north. After the Israeli invasion of \u00a0Rafah<\/a>, where many internally-displaced people took refuge, access to humanitarian aid was cut off, and the displaced fled north again.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The recent looting of 100 food trucks by Palestinian gangs, which Israeli propaganda highlights, is the exception, not the rule. In one incident, now known as the\u00a0\u201cflour massacre,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0118 people were killed and over 700 were wounded when IDF soldiers shot at a crowd of people waiting to receive food aid in Gaza City.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Under international law, as an occupying power, Israel has a legal\u00a0obligation<\/a>\u00a0to provide basic needs to Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank. Not only has Israel failed to provide for basic needs, but Israel actively blocks aid into Gaza.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Starvation is the crime against humanity of Extermination under Article 7 (1)(b) of the ICC statute<\/a>: \u201cthe intentional infliction of conditions of life, inter alia the deprivation of access to food and medicine, calculated to bring about the destruction of part of a population.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Israeli Settlements in the West Bank<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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According to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, 700,000<\/a> Israeli settlers currently live in settlements in the West Bank. Israel subsidizes<\/a>\u00a0expansion of these settlements.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Violent conflicts between Israeli settlers and Palestinians are common. From October 2023 to August 2024,\u00a0660 Palestinians<\/a>\u00a0were killed in the West Bank. Most settlers identify with Israeli political parties that support Netanyahu. Attacks by settlers <\/a>against Palestinians reached a\u00a0high in 2022<\/a>. They were\u00a0extensively documented<\/a>. Under one percent <\/a>these attacks since 2017 have been prosecuted by Israeli authorities<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In August 2024, The IDF conducted a major operation<\/a>\u00a0to target \u201cterrorist infrastructure\u201d in the West Bank. It included invasions of three Palestinian refugee camps. It resulted in the deaths of 16 Palestinians, and substantial damage to Palestinian homes, farms, and public services.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Palestinian civil rights have been nullified in both Gaza and the occupied West Bank. Israel has\u00a0rounded up and imprisoned<\/a>\u00a0Palestinian boys and men without any charges<\/a>\u00a0or access to legal aid.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Israeli settlements in the West Bank are war crimes under Article 8 (2)(b)(viii) of the ICC Statute,<\/a>\u00a0which prohibits: \u201cthe transfer, directly or indirectly, by the Occupying Power of parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The UN, the International Court of Justice, and the International Criminal Court<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The UN Security Council by a vote of 14 \u2013 0 (Russia abstaining) adopted Resolution 2735 <\/a>on June 10, 2024 calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all hostages. A UNSC resolution in December 2024 was vetoed by the US because it failed to demand that Hamas release all hostages. A UN General Assembly <\/a>resolution passed December 11, 2024 by 158 to 9 called for a ceasefire and release of all hostages.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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On 29 December 2023 South Africa <\/a>brought a case for violation of the Genocide Convention against Israel in the International Court of Justice<\/a>. On 26 January 2024, the ICJ issued provisional measures<\/a>\u00a0calling on Israel to prevent acts of genocide against Palestinians and do more to help civilians, but it did not order a ceasefire as requested by South Africa.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Netanyahu and Gallant are now charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court<\/a>, along with Hamas\u2019s Mohammed Deif, and the deceased Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Hamas has demanded\u00a0total withdrawal<\/a>\u00a0of Israeli forces as a condition for any hostage release. But in on 12 December 2024 Hamas agreed to a temporary IDF presence<\/a>\u00a0in Gaza. Hamas admits that 33 hostages <\/a>have been killed, and others have \u201cgone missing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Prime Minister Netanyahu states that there will be no end to the war until Hamas is totally destroyed<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Such demands for total surrender make ending wars impossible without a total victory by one side.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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This stalemate can be broken only when Hamas releases all hostages and Israel withdraws from Gaza. Meanwhile scores of Palestinian civilians are being killed daily by constant bombing while thousands are dying of starvation. Any hope for peace between Israel and Palestinians depends on ending this war.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Genocide Watch recommends:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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