Former UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues
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@fernanddev
Dr Fernand de Varennes. Rapporteur spécial sortant des Nations Unies sur les questions relatives aux minorités - FormerUN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues.
Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. It sounds inconceivable. But it’s the truth. Israel is taking deliberate, coordinated action to destroy the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Explicit statements by Israeli officials, combined with a consistent policy of destructive attacks and other practices of annihilation, prove beyond a doubt that Israel’s target is the entire population of Gaza. Entire cities razed to the ground; medical, educational, religious and cultural infrastructure systematically destroyed; 2 million Palestinians forcibly displaced with the aim of expelling them from Gaza; and, of course, mass starvation and killing - all this amounts to an explicit attempt to destroy the population of Gaza and impose living conditions so catastrophic that Palestinian society cannot continue to exist there. That is the exact definition of genocide. The report we are releasing today is a warning: The ideology driving the Israeli regime is not confined to Gaza. The same regime, the same army, the same leaders and the same commanders are implementing extremely violent practices against Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and within Israel. We are already witnessing the spillover of practices Israel is using in Gaza to other areas - on a different scale, but guided by the same logic. In the West Bank, this is taking the form of airstrikes, demolition of refugee camps, mass evictions, and the deliberate destruction of Palestinian economy and society. No Palestinian who lives under the genocidal Israeli regime is safe. There is no justification for genocide – not “self-defense”, not “security”, and not the heinous acts committed by Hamas on October 7, 2023, which triggered profound existential fear among Israelis. The international community has not only failed in its duty to stop the atrocities, but the leaders of the Western world, particularly the United States and Europe, also share responsibility by providing support that enables Israel’s acts of destruction. It is the duty of the international community to stop the genocide Israel is carrying out in Gaza. On social media, we are seeing footage of people buried under bombed-out buildings, displaced persons’ camps on fire, children starving, people desperate for water, and hospitals left unable to treat the injured and the sick. As a human rights organization it is our duty and responsibility to say the truth: Genocide is happening, right here and right now. This is our genocide, and we need to stop it. Read the full report, “Our Genocide” >> btselem.org/publications/2…
