Israel carried out “genocidal acts” in opposition to Palestinians by systematically destroying ladies’s health-care services throughout the battle in Gaza, and used sexual violence as a conflict technique, United Nations specialists say in a brand new report.
In its report launched Thursday, the UN Impartial Worldwide Fee of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, together with East Jerusalem, and Israel stated the usage of heavy explosives in civilian areas and Israeli assaults on hospitals and well being services.
It stated all three led to “disproportionate violence in opposition to ladies and kids.”
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the report’s findings, saying they have been biased and antisemitic.
“As an alternative of specializing in the crimes in opposition to humanity and conflict crimes dedicated by the Hamas terrorist group … the United Nations as soon as once more chooses to assault the state of Israel with false accusations,” he stated in a press release.
Israel disengaged from the Human Rights Council in February.
“Israeli authorities have destroyed partly the reproductive capability of the Palestinians in Gaza as a gaggle, together with by imposing measures meant to forestall births, one of many classes of genocidal acts within the Rome Statute and the Genocide Conference,” stated the UN fee’s report.
These actions, along with a surge in maternity deaths resulting from restricted entry to medical provides, amounted to the crime in opposition to humanity of extermination, the fee stated.
The report accused Israel’s safety forces of utilizing compelled public stripping and sexual assault as a part of their commonplace working procedures to punish Palestinians following the Hamas-led assaults on southern Israel in October 2023.
The ensuing conflict within the Gaza Strip has killed greater than 48,000 Palestinians, based on Gaza well being officers.
IDF says insurance policies ‘prohibit such misconduct’
The fee additionally accused Israeli safety forces of rape and sexual violence in opposition to Palestinian detainees. Israel denies any systematic abuse of prisoners and says it takes motion when there are violations.
Israel has rejected the accusations.
“The IDF [Israeli Defence Force] has concrete directives … and insurance policies which unequivocally prohibit such misconduct,” the everlasting mission to the UN in Geneva responded in a press release, including that its evaluate processes are in keeping with worldwide requirements.
A earlier report revealed by the fee in June 2024 accused Hamas and different Palestinian armed teams of significant rights violations in the 2023 assaults, which killed 1,200 individuals and resulted in 251 hostages, based on Israeli tallies.
In March final 12 months, a crew of United Nations specialists stated there have been “cheap grounds to consider” sexual violence, together with rape, occurred at a number of places throughout the militant group’s assault.
The fee is led by former UN human rights chief Navi Pillay. Its findings can be utilized as proof for the Worldwide Prison Court docket or different our bodies that search to prosecute conflict crimes.
Palestinian officers say individuals in Gaza may quickly run out of unpolluted consuming water. After Israel reduce off the electrical energy provide to Gaza this weekend, a desalination plant in Deir al-Balah has been operating at about 30 per cent capability on backup turbines.
Israel is celebration to the Genocide Conference and was ordered in January 2024 by the Worldwide Court docket of Justice to take motion to forestall acts of genocide throughout the conflict in opposition to Hamas.
It is just not celebration to the Rome Statute, which supplies the Worldwide Prison Court docket jurisdiction to rule on particular person prison instances involving genocide and crimes in opposition to humanity.
South Africa has introduced a genocide case in opposition to Israel’s actions in Gaza on the Worldwide Court docket of Justice.
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