Why Israel cannot simply dismiss Gaza genocide charge as Hamas 'lies'
If Israel’s government is telling the truth about its actions in Gaza, it has nothing to fear from allowing international journalists into the region
As Israel began a new ground offensive in Gaza City, its Defence Minister Israel Katz declared triumphantly that its armed forces were “striking with an iron fist” and “Gaza is burning”.
On the same day, a United Nations’ commission of inquiry concluded that the Israeli authorities and security forces “have committed and are continuing to commit” acts of genocide against the people of Gaza. These acts, the commission’s report stated, included killing and injuring Palestinians and “deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part”.
In response, Israel’s foreign ministry claimed the commission’s three members were acting as “Hamas proxies” and condemned the report’s “lies”. "The report relies entirely on Hamas falsehoods, laundered and repeated by others. These fabrications have already been thoroughly debunked," it said.
Treating Palestinians as ‘subhuman group’
However, this is not the only report to reach the same conclusion. In December last year, an Amnesty International report found it had “carried out acts prohibited under the Genocide Convention”. The organisation’s secretary-general, Agnès Callamard, said: “Month after month, Israel has treated Palestinians in Gaza as a subhuman group unworthy of human rights and dignity, demonstrating its intent to physically destroy them.”
In July, the Israeli human rights organisations B'Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel published separate reports accusing the Israeli government of genocide. In a joint statement, they said: "In these dark times, it is especially important to call things by their name.”
And last month, the International Association of Genocide Scholars passed a resolution that Israel’s actions in Gaza amounted to genocide, calling on the Israeli government to cease “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...”
While asking us to believe all these people are lying, Israel’s government continues to refuse to allow international journalists into the Gaza Strip to see first-hand what is happening. Acting like you have something to hide while accusing all and sundry of lying is simply not credible.
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