- Title: UN inquiry condemns 'extermination' of Palestinians
- Date: 19th June 2024
- Summary: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (JUNE 19, 2024) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF MEMBER OF THE COMMISSION OF INQUIRY ON THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY, INCLUDING EAST JERUSALEM, AND ISRAEL, CHRIS SODOTI, AND CHAIR OF COMMISSION, NAVI PILLAY ARRIVING AT HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL (HRC) SESSION VARIOUS OF HRC SESSION IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHAIR OF THE COMMISSION OF INQUIRY ON THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY, INCLUDING EAST JERUSALEM, AND ISRAEL, NAVI PILLAY, SAYING: “In relation to Israel's military operations and attacks in Gaza from 7th October, we conclude that Israeli authorities are responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity and violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, including extermination, intentionally directing attacks against civilians and civilian objects, murder or willful killing, using starvation as a method of war, forcible transfer, gender persecution targeting Palestinian men and boys, sexual and gender-based violence amounting to torture, and cruel or inhumane treatment.” VARIOUS OF ISRAEL'S AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N. IN GENEVA, MEIRAV EILON SHAHAR, DURING SESSION PALESTINIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N. IN GENEVA, IBRAHIM KHRAISHI DURING SESSION (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHAIR OF THE COMMISSION OF INQUIRY ON THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY, INCLUDING EAST JERUSALEM, AND ISRAEL, NAVI PILLAY, SAYING: “We found that the immense numbers of civilian casualties in Gaza and widespread destruction of civilian objects and infrastructure were the inevitable result of an intentional strategy to cause maximum damage, disregarding the legal obligations of distinction, proportionality and adequate precautions.” VARIOUS OF MOTHER OF ROMI GONEN, ISRAELI HELD HOSTAGE BY HAMAS, MEIRAV LESHEM GONEN, LISTENING DURING HRC SESSION (SOUNDBITE) (English) MOTHER OF ROMI GONEN, ISRAELI HELD HOSTAGE BY HAMAS, MEIRAV LESHEM GONEN, SAYING: “The international community must not allow political consideration to override our core human values. Energy and resources should be directed towards securing the release of the hostages and the rehabilitation of the victims. We owe all hostages still held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza to do all in our power to release them immediately. I owe it to Romi, and so does the international community.” VARIOUS OF KHRAISHI DURING SESSION (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic), PALESTINIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N. IN GENEVA, IBRAHIM KHRAISHI, SAYING: “It (the report) stressed that there can be no justification for targeting hospitals, schools, and places of worship, as the occupation forces are aware of the presence of children, women and civilians, and often, the evacuation orders were not effective, and in many cases civilians were not warned of the need to evacuate, and that targeting children, women, the elderly and people with disabilities during displacement is a war crime and premeditated murder. The report referred to the forced displacement of more than 1.7 million people, and the committee believes that this also constitutes a war crime.” VARIOUS OF SESSION IN PROGRESS PRESS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHAIR OF THE COMMISSION OF INQUIRY ON THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY, INCLUDING EAST JERUSALEM, AND ISRAEL, NAVI PILLAY, SAYING: “Israel has obstructed the commission's investigations and prevented its access not only to Israel and Gaza, but to the occupied Palestinian territory. So it's true that our work in the investigation, collection and safeguarding of evidence has been hampered. It's not what we would like to do, which is go to the ground and talk to witnesses ourselves.” PRESS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHAIR OF THE COMMISSION OF INQUIRY ON THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY, INCLUDING EAST JERUSALEM, AND ISRAEL, NAVI PILLAY, SAYING: “By not giving us access to Gaza, Israel and Palestine, they are denying the victims on the ground there from getting their voices, their authentic voices heard. So we will continue to pursue that. I feel really bolstered by the fact that the International Court of Justice in the South Africa application has that as one of the key orders is to allow access to the U.N.'s investigation team, because everyone realises you have to have reliable information for courts to act upon it.” PRESS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (English) MEMBER OF THE COMMISSION OF INQUIRY ON THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY, INCLUDING EAST JERUSALEM, AND ISRAEL, CHRIS SIDOTI, SAYING: “You mentioned the Israeli army is the most moral army in the world. This is something that is said repeatedly by the current Prime Minister of Israel (Benjamin) Netanyahu. On one recent occasion, he walked it back a bit, and he said one of the most moral armies in the world. Now, I don't have the expertise and I don't have the authority to make assessments of morality. Netanyahu may, but I don't. So I don't know whether it's one of the most moral armies in the world or not. But what I do have expertise in and what I do have authority to do is make assessments of criminal conduct. We've done that in relation to the recent events, and you can see that in the report. And the only conclusion you can draw is that the Israeli army is one of the most criminal armies in the world. But I'll leave morality to Netanyahu to determine.” VARIOUS OF PRESS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS VARIOUS OF EXTERIORS OF THE U.N.
- Embargoed: 3rd July 2024 15:28
- Keywords: Commission of inquiry Gaza Hamas Israel United Nations human rights council war
- Location: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
- City: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
- Country: Palestinian Occupied Territory
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Middle East,Military Conflicts
- Reuters ID: LVA001208019062024RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The head of a United Nations Commission of Inquiry (COI), Navi Pillay, said on Wednesday (June 19) that the Israeli military are carrying out the "extermination" of Palestinians, adding that perpetrators of abuses in the conflict must be brought to account.
She repeated findings from a report published last week that both Hamas militants and Israel have committed war crimes but said that Israel alone was responsible for the most serious abuses under international law known as "crimes against humanity."
She said the scale of Palestinian civilian losses amounted to "extermination."
Israel, which does not cooperate with the inquiry and alleges an anti-Israel bias, chose Meirav Gonen, the mother of 23-year-old Hamas hostage Romi Gonen, to speak on its behalf and criticized the report on the grounds that it did not give due attention to hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7.
Israel's air and ground offensive has killed more than 37,400 people in the Hamas-ruled Palestinian territory, according to health authorities there.
Israel launched its assault after Hamas fighters stormed across the border into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing around 1,200 people and taking more than 250 people hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
The COI is sharing its evidence with the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice, Pillay said, but had so far faced obstruction from Israel.
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