In the landmark report, ‘You Feel Like You Are Subhuman’: Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza, Amnesty International documents how, during its military offensive launched in the wake of the deadly Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, Israeli forces have carried out acts prohibited under the Genocide Convention, with the specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza.

Israeli forces have caused unprecedented destruction, at a level and speed not seen in any other conflict in the 21st century, leveling entire cities and destroying critical infrastructure, agricultural land and cultural and religious sites, rendering large swathes of Gaza uninhabitable.

42,000 Palestinians have been killed, including over 13,300 children, and injured over 97,000 more, many of them in direct or deliberately indiscriminate attacks, often wiping out entire multigenerational families.

The government of Israel imposed conditions of life in Gaza that created a deadly mixture of malnutrition, hunger and diseases, and exposed Palestinians to a slow, calculated death.

The government of Israel also subjected hundreds of Palestinians from Gaza to incommunicado detention, torture and other ill treatment.

In isolation, these are serious violations of international humanitarian law or international human rights law. But looking at the broader picture of Israel’s military campaign and the cumulative impact of its policies and acts, the conclusion we came to is genocidal intent.

Amnesty International’s research report is based on interviews with more than 200 people, including Palestinian victims and witnesses, local authorities in Gaza, healthcare workers, extensive fieldwork, analysis of extensive visual and digital evidence, including satellite imagery, and analysis of statements by senior Israeli government and military officials, and official Israeli bodies.

Our findings must serve as a wake-up call to the international community: this is genocide, and it must stop now.

We are releasing this report to help stop the ongoing genocide, prevent further acts of genocide against Palestinians, and reiterate the urgency of a ceasefire.


https://www.amnestyusa.org/reports/you-feel-like-you-are-subhuman-israels-genoci...

Jasin wrote on Dec 17^th, 2024 at 7:41am:


Nov 17, 2023

Israel's membership of the United Nations was approved in 1949. Unlike other states, it was approved conditionally upon Israel complying with Partition Resolution 181 as to the limits of the Israeli State, and UN Resolution 194, allowing the return of refugees. Israel has complied with neither condition. It refuses to define its borders and is today governed by an Apartheid regime that has murdered over 4,500 children in Gaza in the space of one month. Israel’s membership of the UN must be illegal. It should be expelled from the community of nations.

Once a regime is accepted as an apartheid regime, consequences flow. An apartheid regime is illegitimate and must be removed from the community of nations.

Just as the UN General Assembly did of apartheid South Africa in 1974, member states must vote to suspend Israel from the work of the UNGA immediately and recommend to the UN Security Council that it be expelled as a member state. That Western permanent members of the UNSC may seek to shield Israel from expulsion, just as Britain, France and the US did for apartheid South Africa in 1974, should not deter UNGA members.

Entities dealing with the apartheid regime of Israel expose themselves to criminal responsibility. Such entities may be a Head of State or Government, a member of a government, or government official. Indeed, on 13 October the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians, based in Harrow, England, gave notice to Prime Minister Sunak, and the Foreign Secretary and Attorney General of an intention to prosecute UK officials complicit in war crimes.  Whilst complicity with the crime of apartheid was not directly relied upon, apartheid was cited as constituting the background to the current, more immediate, alleged criminal acts. The Rome Statute is relied upon to address complicity.

There can be no prospect of an acknowledged apartheid regime continuing and remaining a member of the community of nations. As with South Africa, the obligation would fall squarely on other states to boycott and sanction the subject regime. Article IV of the International Convention requires state parties to the Convention to take action to bring the regime to an end. Article VIII contemplates action to prevent and suppress the crime of apartheid.

Does apartheid Israel have a right to exist? The answer is no. The apartheid South African regime had no right to exist and ceased to exist, replaced by a non-apartheid South Africa. Israel or Israel/Palestine can continue to exist after the apartheid regime ends, in the same way that South Africa has.

That might happen in a number of ways. One way would be the two state solution. The occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza would end, (implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 242, passed in 1967). Israel would have to define its own borders, something which to date it has refused to do. So far as the new state of Israel is concerned, it would also be necessary for certain racist legislation applying to Israel to be repealed, presumably to be replaced with a constitution guaranteeing the rights of all citizens equally. It should be noted that presently Israel does not have a constitution.

Another way would be the one state solution – one country embracing all the above lands with a similar constitution based on coexistence and equality of all citizens, regardless of race or ethnicity, and guaranteeing a right of return for refugees. I emphasise that neither option requires even one Jewish Israeli to leave the country.

It is of interest to note that UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, in her first report delivered in October 2022 recommended that UN member states develop “a plan to end the Israeli …. apartheid regime”.

Readers will recall that Francesca Albanese recently delivered the Edward Said Memorial Lecture in Adelaide on 11 November and a speech at the National Press Club on 14 November.

Conclusion.

So where are we left? Here in Australia, I believe that we must press our Prime Minister and Foreign Minister to re-think the issue of both Israel’s “right to defend itself” and Israel’s “right to exist” and to accept that they are not bound to follow the dictates of the US/Israeli entity.

Host to an apartheid regime which has murdered over 4,500 Palestinian children in the last month alone, and in breach of the conditions of its recognition as a state set by the UN, Israel has no ‘right to exist’, and no right to wage a brutal war of collective punishment in an occupied territory in breach of international law.

https://johnmenadue.com/does-israel-have-a-right-to-exist/