White House National Security Spokesperson John Kirby claimed Monday: “Israel is not trying to wipe the Palestinian people off the map.”South African President Cyril Ramaphosa Tuesday stated that Israel’s “deliberate denial of medicine, fuel, food and water to the residents of Gaza is tantamount to genocide.” See from RootsAction: “It’s Time to Invoke the Genocide Convention.” UN whistleblower Craig Mokhiber notes that while genocidal intent is usually difficult to prove, statements by Israeli leaders leave “no room for doubt or debate.”
Among such statements:
“We are imposing a complete siege on Gaza. There will be no electricity, no food, no water, no fuel. Everything is closed. We are fighting human animals and we act accordingly!” — Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant “Human animals must be treated as such. There will be no electricity and no water [in Gaza], there will only be destruction. You wanted hell, you will get hell!” — Israeli Army’s Major General Ghassan Alian “To be clear, when we say that Hamas should be destroyed, it also means those who celebrate, those who support, and those who hand out candy – they’re all terrorists, and they should also be destroyed!” — Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir “It’s an entire nation out there that is responsible. It’s not true, this rhetoric about civilians not aware, not involved. It’s absolutely not true!” — President Isaac Herzog “You must remember what Amalek did to you!” — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyau See more complete list from international lawyer Reza Nasri. See video from journalist Katie Halper.Israel has also attacked symbols of Palestinian nationhood, like bulldozing a monument to the late Palestinian secular leader Yasser Arafat in the West Bank.
RICHARD SILVERSTEIN, richards1052@gmail.com, @richards1052 Silverstein writes at Tikun Olam and recently wrote the piece “Former IDF Commander Calls for Gaza Genocide.
FRANCIS BOYLE, fboyle@illinois.edu
Boyle is professor of international law at the University of Illinois College of Law. His books include The Bosnian People Charge Genocide (1996) Palestine, Palestinians and International Law (2009) and World Politics, Human Rights and International Law (2021). He is quoted in the recent piece by IPA senior analyst Sam Husseini “To Save Gaza, Invoke the Genocide Convention.”
See past related IPA news releases.
