Legal scholars: Genocide label crucial in addressing atrocities in Gaza
Two years into the war on Gaza, legal scholars have emphasised the importance of labelling the mass atrocities Israel is committing against Palestinians as a genocide due to the legal and political implications of the determination.
Additionally, experts stress that it is the most accurate description of the Israeli campaign, and even some of Israel’s staunchest supporters acknowledged that the country has committed war crimes in Gaza.
But experts said Israel’s brutal assault is more than individual violations of the laws of war; it represents a push to destroy the Palestinians and must be described as what it is – a genocide.
Palestine tells UNSC: ‘This genocide must be stopped’
The State of Palestine has accused Israel of waging a “genocidal war” in Gaza in a letter to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), warning that the devastation has reached unprecedented levels.
Published on the State of Palestine’s official X account, the letter said “while the rest of the world exerts all efforts to stop the bloodshed, Israel, the occupying power, persists with its genocidal war against the Palestinian people in Gaza”.
It said Israel had “insisted on its criminal path of collective punishment”, accusing it of destroying Palestinian society and pursuing the “colonisation and annexation” of occupied land.
According to the statement, “The casualty toll since October 2023 has surpassed at least 237,000 Palestinians in Gaza alone,” with most homes and civilian infrastructure destroyed. It also warned that Israel’s “all-out assault on Palestinian existence risks being replicated in the West Bank”, citing rising settler violence and forced displacement.
“Israel’s degradation of life and of international law must be halted. On this tragic second anniversary, we reiterate: This genocide must be stopped,” the letter concluded.
