The investigation also determined that Israeli leaders are responsible of 'weaponizing' starvation against Palestinians in Gaza and of 'instigating' a pattern of settler attacks in the occupied West Bank
News Desk - The Cradle
During its investigation, the COI found that Israeli authorities are responsible for "the war crimes of starvation as a method of warfare, murder or willful killing, intentionally directing attacks against civilians and civilian objects, forcible transfer, sexual violence, torture and inhuman or cruel treatment, arbitrary detention, and outrages upon personal dignity."
"The crimes against humanity of extermination, gender persecution targeting Palestinian men and boys, murder, [and] forcible transfer" were also committed, the commission found.
The COI was established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2021 to investigate widespread violations of international humanitarian and human rights law by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Wednesday's report details that the massive number of civilian casualties and destruction of civilian infrastructure in Gaza is "the inevitable result of a strategy undertaken with the intent to cause maximum damage, disregarding the principles of distinction, proportionality, and adequate precautions."
Furthermore, the probe determined that inflammatory statements by Israeli officials "amounted to incitement and may constitute other serious international crimes," adding that direct and public incitement to genocide is a crime under international law whenever perpetrated.
The COI also condemned Israel's continued attacks on civilian evacuation routes and “safe areas” and said top Israeli authorities have "weaponized the siege and used the provision of life-sustaining necessities, including by severing water, food, electricity, fuel, and humanitarian assistance, for strategic and political gains."
In the occupied West Bank, the COI found that Israel committed "acts of sexual violence, torture and inhuman or cruel treatment and outrages upon personal dignity, all of which are war crimes."
Moreover, the commission determined that Tel Aviv "permitted, fostered, and instigated" a pattern of settler aggression directed against Palestinian communities.
The COI finally urged the Israeli government to implement a ceasefire immediately, lift the blockade of Gaza, allow the unimpeded entry of humanitarian aid, cease attacks on civilians and infrastructure, and “comply fully” with the rulings of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
"Israel must immediately stop its military operations and attacks in Gaza, including the assault on Rafah, which has cost the lives of hundreds of civilians and again displaced hundreds of thousands of people to unsafe locations without basic services and humanitarian assistance," Navi Pillay, chair of the commission, said in a press release.
Elsewhere in Wednesday's report, the COI accused the Palestinian resistance in Gaza of having "deliberately killed, injured, mistreated, took hostages, and committed sexual and gender-based violence" during the 7 October Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.
"[The] indiscriminate firing of thousands of projectiles towards Israeli towns and cities resulting in death and injury of civilians are also violations of international humanitarian and human rights law … Hamas and Palestinian armed groups must immediately cease rocket attacks and release all hostages. The taking of hostages constitutes a war crime," Pillay added in her statement.
Nevertheless, the COI probe into the events of 7 October also accused Israeli authorities of “[failing] to protect civilians in southern Israel on almost every front.”
In response to the damning accusations, Israel’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Meirav Eilon Shahar, accused the COI of long-standing “systematic anti-Israeli discrimination.”
The report, which is due to be presented to the UN Human Rights Council next week, comes just days after the UN secretary-general announced plans to include Israel in a blacklist of nations and extremist armed groups harming children in conflict zones.
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