International Association of Genocide Scholars declares Israel committing genocide in Gaza

The world’s leading genocide scholars’ association passed a resolution saying that the legal criteria have been met to establish that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, its president says.

Eighty-six percent of those who voted among the 500-member International Association of Genocide Scholars backed the resolution declaring: “Israel’s policies and actions in Gaza meet the legal definition of genocide in Article II of the United Nations Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948).”

The three-page resolution adopted by the scholars calls on Israel to “immediately cease all acts that constitute genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity against Palestinians in Gaza, including deliberate attacks against and killing of civilians including children; starvation; deprivation of humanitarian aid, water, fuel, and other items essential to the survival of the population; sexual and reproductive violence; and forced displacement of the population.”

There was no immediate response from the Israeli Foreign Ministry. Israel has in the past strongly denied that its actions in Gaza amount to genocide and says they are justified as self defense.

In Gaza, Hamas welcomed the resolution. “This prestigious scholarly stance reinforces the documented evidence and facts presented before international courts,” says Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office.

The resolution “places a legal and moral obligation on the international community to take urgent action to stop the crime, protect civilians, and hold the leaders of the occupation accountable,” he adds.

The resolution also states that Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which sparked the ongoing war, constituted international crimes.