The official full text of South Africa's application instituting proceedings against Israel's Genocide" - Israeli officials
First page
Expressions of Genocidal Intent against the Palestinian People by Israeli State Officials and Others
1.
Evidence of Israeli
State officials’ specific intent (‘dolus
specialis’) to commit and persist in committing genocidal acts or to fail
to prevent them has been significant and overt since October 2023. Those
statements of intent — when combined with the level of killing, maiming,
displacement and destruction on the ground, together with the siege — evidence
an unfolding and continuing genocide. They include statements
by the following individuals in the positions
of the highest responsibility:
—
Prime
Minister of Israel: On 7 October 2023, in a televised address by the
Government Press Office, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to “operate
forcefully everywhere”.439 On 13
October 2023, he confirmed that “[w]e are
striking our enemies with unprecedented might . . .”.440 On 15 October 2023, when
Israeli airstrikes had already killed over 2,670 Palestinians, including 724
children,441 the Prime
Minister stated that Israeli soldiers “understand the scope of the mission” and
stand ready “to defeat the bloodthirsty monsters who
435 UN OCHA, Hostilities in the Gaza
Strip and Israel | Flash Update #44 (19 November 2023), https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-44; UN OCHA, Hostilities
in the Gaza Strip and Israel
| Flash Update
#48 (23 November
2023), https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash- update-48.
436 “Abandoned babies
found decomposing in Gaza hospital
weeks after it was evacuated”, NBC News
(2 December 2023), https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/abandoned-babies-found-decomposing-gaza-hospital-evacuated-rcna127533.
437 WHO, Women and newborns bearing the
brunt of the conflict in Gaza, UN agencies warn (3 November 2023), https://www.who.int/news/item/03-11-2023-women-and-newborns-bearing-the-brunt-of-the-conflict-in-gaza-un-agencies- warn.
438 UN Press Release, Women bearing the
brunt of Israel-Gaza conflict: UN expert (20 November 2023), https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/11/women-bearing-brunt-israel-gaza-conflict-un-expert (emphasis added). 439 Prime
Minister of Israel, @IsraeliPM, Tweet (10:31 pm, October 7, 2023), https://twitter.com/IsraeliPM/status/1710769906373775373.
440 Address by the Prime
Minister of Israel,
(13 October 2023),
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4HXaZ20M6Q. Translation in “‘Only
the beginning’ says Netanyahu as Israel makes
first raids into Gaza”, Reuters (13
October 2023), https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/now-is-time-war-says-israels-military-chief-2023-10-12/.
441 UNICEF, Immediate Needs Document in
the State of Palestine (October – December 2023) (17 October 2023), https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/immediate-needs-document-state-palestine-october-december- 2023.
(Total as of 17:45, 15 October 2023; children as of 12:00, 14 October 2023).
have risen against [Israel] to destroy us”.442 On 16 October 2023, in a formal address to the Israeli Knesset, he described
situation as “a struggle between the children of light and the children of darkness, between humanity and the law of the jungle”,443 a dehumanising theme to
which he returned
on various occasions,
including: on 3 November 2023, in a letter to Israeli
soldiers and officers also published on the platform ‘X’ (formerly
Twitter); the letter asserted that: “[t]his is the war between the sons of
light and the sons of darkness. We will not let up on our mission until the light overcomes the darkness — the good will defeat the extreme evil that
threatens us and the entire world.”444 The
Israeli Prime Minister also returned to the theme in his ‘Christmas message’, stating: “we’re
facing monsters, monsters who murdered children in front of their parents . . .
This is a battle not only of Israel against these barbarians, it’s a battle of
civilization against barbarism”.445 On
28 October 2023, as Israeli forces prepared their land invasion of Gaza, the
Prime Minister invoked the Biblical story of the total destruction of Amalek by
the Israelites, stating: “you must remember what Amalek has done to you, says
our Holy Bible. And we do remember”.446 The
Prime Minister referred again to Amalek in the letter sent on 3 November 2023
to Israeli soldiers and officers.447 The
relevant biblical passage reads as follows: “Now go, attack Amalek, and
proscribe all that belongs to him. Spare no one, but kill alike men and women,
infants and sucklings, oxen and sheep, camels
and asses”.448
—
President
of Israel: On 12 October 2023, President Isaac Herzog made clear that
Israel was not distinguishing between militants and civilians in Gaza, stating
in a press conference to foreign media — in relation Palestinians in Gaza, over
one million of whom are children: “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. … and we will fight until we break
their backbone.”449 On
15 October 2023, echoing the words of Prime Minister
Netanyahu, the President told foreign media
that “we will uproot evil so that there will be good for the entire region and
the world.”450 The Israeli President is one of
many Israelis to have handwritten ‘messages’ on bombs to be dropped
on Gaza.451
—
Israeli
Minister of Defence: On 9 October 2023, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant in
an Israeli Army ‘situation update’ advised that Israel was “imposing a complete
siege on Gaza. No electricity, no food, no water, no fuel. Everything is
closed. We are fighting human animals and
442 Israel Prime Minister’s Office,
PM Netanyahu asks Ministers to Rise for a Moment
of Silence (15
October 2023), https://www.gov.il/en/departments/news/spoke-start151023 (emphasis added).
443 Israel
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Press Release: Excerpt from PM Netanyahu's remarks
at the opening of the Winter
Assembly of the 25th Knesset's Second
Session, 16 October
2023, https://www.gov.il/en/departments/news/excerpt-from-pm- netanyahu-s-remarks-at-the-opening-of-the-knesset-s-winter-assembly-16-oct-2023.
444 Prime
Minister’s Office in Hebrew, @IsraeliPM_heb (11:44 am, November 3, 2023),
https://twitter.com/IsraeliPM_heb/status/1720406469055500583.
445 Israel Ministry
of Foreign Affairs,
Christmas message from PM Netanyahu, 24 December 2023, https://www.gov.il/en/departments/news/christmas-message-from-pm-netanyahu-24-dec-2023.
446 Address by the Prime Minister
of Israel, 28 October 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIPkoDk6isc. Translation in,
“Israel-Hamas war: 'We will fight and we will win', says Benjamin Netanyahu”, Sky News (28 October 2023), https://news.sky.com/video/israel-hamas-war-we-will-fight-and-we-will-win-says-benjamin-netanyahu-12995212.
447 Prime
Minister’s Office in Hebrew, @IsraeliPM_heb, Tweet (11:43 am November 3, 2023),
https://twitter.com/IsraeliPM_heb/status/1720406463972004198.
448 Sefaria,
I Samuel 15:1-34, JPS, 1985, https://www.sefaria.org/I_Samuel.15.1-34?lang=bi.
449 Rageh Omaar, “Israeli president
Isaac Herzog says Gazans could have risen up to fight ‘evil'
Hamas’”, ITV News (13 October 2023), https://www.itv.com/news/2023-10-13/israeli-president-says-gazans-could-have-risen-up-to-fight-hamas. 450 President of the State of Israel, @Isaac_Herzog, Tweet (10 pm, October
15, 2023), https://twitter.com/Isaac_Herzog/status/1713661051986678189.
451 President of the State of Israel,
@Isaac_Herzog, Tweet (5:16 pm, December
25, 2023), https://twitter.com/Isaac_Herzog/status/173933430267074594.
we are acting accordingly.”452 He
also informed troops on the Gaza border that he had “released all the
restraints”,453 stating in
terms that: “Gaza won’t return to what it was before. We will eliminate
everything. If it doesn’t take one day, it will take a week. It will take weeks
or even months, we will reach all places.”454 He further announced that Israel was moving to
“a full- scale response” and that he had “removed every restriction” on Israeli
forces.455
—
Israeli
Minister for National Security: On 10 November 2023, Itamar
Ben-Gvir clarified the government’s
position in a televised address, stating: “[t]o 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.”456
—
Israeli
Minister of Energy and
Infrastructure: ‘Tweeting’ on 13 October 2023, Israel Katz stated: “All the
civilian population in Gaza is ordered to leave immediately. We will win. They
will not receive a drop of water or a
single battery until they leave the world.”457 On 12 October
2023, he ‘tweeted’: “Humanitarian aid to Gaza? No electrical switch will be
turned on, no water hydrant will be opened and no fuel truck will enter until
the Israeli abductees are returned home. Humanitarianism for humanitarianism. And no one will preach us morality.”458
—
Israeli
Minister of Finance: On 8
October 2023, Bezalel Smotrich stated at a meeting of the Israeli Cabinet that “[w]e need to
deal a blow that hasn’t been seen in 50 years and take down Gaza.”459
—
Israeli
Minister of Heritage: On 1 November 2023, Amichai Eliyahu posted on
Facebook: “The north of the Gaza Strip, more beautiful than ever. Everything is
blown up and flattened, simply a pleasure for the eyes … We must talk about the
day after. In my mind, we will hand over lots to all those who fought for Gaza
over the years and to those evicted from Gush
Katif” [a former Israeli settlement].460 He later argued against humanitarian aid as “[w]e
 |
452 Statement by Yoav Gallant, 9 October 2023, 9 October 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nxvS9VY-t0. Translation in Emanuel Fabian,
“Defense minister announces
‘complete siege’ of Gaza: No power, food or fuel”,
The Times of Israel (9
October 2023), https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/defense-minister-announces-complete-siege-of- gaza-no-power-food-or-fuel/.
453 Filmography:
Ariel Harmoni, Ministry of Defense, Kipa News, 10 October 2023,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9wx7e4u-xM. Translation in Emanuel
Fabian, “Gallant: Israel
moving to full offense,
Gaza will never return to what it was”, The
Times of Israel (10 October 2023), https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/gallant-israel-moving-to-full-offense-gaza-will-never-return-to-what-it-was/. 454 Filmography:
Ariel Harmoni, Ministry of Defense, Kipa News, 10 October 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9wx7e4u-xM. Translation in “Israeli Defense
Minister Warns Hamas ‘Will Regret’ Deadly Attacks”, Bloomberg (10 October 2023), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtjHcnNB0E8.
455 Bill
Hutchinson, “Bombarded by Israeli airstrikes, conditions in Gaza grow more dire
as power goes out”, ABC News (12
October 2023), https://abcnews.go.com/International/bombarded-israeli-airstrikes-conditions-gaza-grow-dire-
power/story?id=103899193#:~:text=The%20airstrikes%20were%20launched%20by,have%20been%20hit%20in%20Gaza. 456
Interview with Itamar Ben-Gvir
on Channel 12, 11 November
2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yRl-cc-D3w [10:30 onwards]. Translated by Quds News
Network, @QudsNen, Tweet (7:28 pm, November 12, 2023), https://twitter.com/QudsNen/status/1723784790682358189.
457 Israel Katz, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, Member of the Political-Security Cabinet,
Member of Knesset, @Israel_katz, Tweet (6:01 pm, October 13, 2023) https://twitter.com/Israel_katz/status/1712876230762967222.
458 Israel Katz, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, Member of the
Political-Security Cabinet, Member of Knesset, @Israel_katz, Tweet
(7:34 am, October
12, 2023) https://twitter.com/Israel_katz/status/1712356130377113904. Translation in “First Thing: no power,
water or fuel for Gaza until hostages are freed, Israel says”, The Guardian (12 October 2023), https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/oct/12/first-thing-no-power-water-fuel-gaza-until-hostages-freed-israel-says. 459
“By abducting over 100 people into Gaza, Hamas has put Netanyahu in a political bind”, The Times of Israel (8 October
2023), https://www.timesofisrael.com/by-abducting-over-100-people-into-gaza-hamas-has-put-netanyahu-in-a-political- bind/.
460 Amichai
Eliyahu, Facebook Post (1 November 2023), https://www.facebook.com/eliyau.a/videos/148918588283326/.
wouldn’t hand
the Nazis humanitarian aid”, and “there is no such thing as uninvolved
civilians in Gaza”.461 He
also posited a nuclear attack on the Gaza Strip.462
—
Israeli
Minister of Agriculture: On 11 November 2023, Avi Dichter in a television
interview recalled the Nakba of
1948, in which over 80 percent of the Palestinian population of the new Israeli
State was forced from or fled their homes, stating that “[w]e are now actually
rolling out the Gaza Nakba”.463
—
Deputy
Speaker of the Knesset and Member of the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee: On 7
October 2023, Nissim Vaturi ‘tweeted’ that: “[n]ow we all have one common goal
— erasing the Gaza Strip from the face of the
earth. Those who are unable will be replaced.”464
2.
Similar statements have been made by Israeli army
officials, advisers and spokespersons, and others engaging with Israeli troops
being deployed in Gaza:
—
Israeli
Army Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (‘COGAT’): On 9
October 2023, in a video statement addressed to Hamas and Gaza residents,
published by COGAT’s official
channel, Major General Ghassan Alian warned: “Hamas became ISIS and the
citizens of Gaza are celebrating instead of
being horrified. Human animals are dealt with accordingly. Israel has
imposed a total blockade on Gaza, no electricity, no water, just damage. You
wanted hell, you will get hell.”465
—
Israeli
Army Reservist Major General, former Head of the Israeli National Security
Council, and adviser to the Defence Minister:466 On 7 October 2023, Giora
Eiland, describing the Israeli order to cut off water and electricity to Gaza,
wrote in an online journal: “This is what Israel has begun to do — we cut the
supply of energy, water and diesel to the
Strip . . . But it’s not enough. In order to make the siege effective,
we have to prevent others from giving assistance to Gaza . . . The people should be told that they have two
choices; to stay and to starve, or to leave. If Egypt and other countries
prefer that these people will perish in Gaza,
this
461 Gili Cohen,
Dov Gil-Har, Itay Blumenthal, Sulieman
Masvidan, “Minister Amichai
Eliyahu: Atomic bomb on Gaza? This is one of the possibilities”, Kan (5 November 2023),
https://www.kan.org.il/content/kan-news/politic/596470/.
Translation in “Far-right minister: Nuking Gaza is an option, population should ‘go to Ireland or deserts’”, The Times of
Israel (5 November 2023), https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/far-right-minister-nuking-gaza-is-an-option- population-should-go-to-ireland-or-deserts/.
462 Ibid. The radio comment
was criticised by the Prime Minister. Prime
Minister of Israel,
@IsraeliPM, Tweet (8:05
am, November 5, 2023),
https://twitter.com/IsraeliPM/status/1721076229518823826. The Prime Minister’s Office announced that the MK had been suspended
from government meetings
until further notice,
although he reportedly voted in a meeting
later that day. “Netanyahu ‘suspended’ the minister who did not fire an atom bomb on Gaza - even though there
is no such option in the government regulations”, Yedioth Ahronoth (5 November 2023), https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/ rjdl5ebm6).
463 Interview with Avi Dichter
on Channel 12. Hanno Hauenstein, @hahauenstein, Tweet (8:42 pm, November
11, 2023), https://twitter.com/hahauenstein/status/1723441134221869453.
464 Nissim Vaturi,
Deputy Speaker of the Knesset.
Member of the Foreign Affairs
and Security Committee, @nissimv, Tweet (5:33 pm, October 7, 2023) https://twitter.com/nissimv/status/1710694866009596169.
Translation in “Public Statement: Scholars Warn of Potential Genocide in Gaza”,
Opinio Juris (18 October 2023), https://opiniojuris.org/2023/10/18/public-statement-scholars-warn-of-potential-genocide-in-gaza/.
465 Video
address by Ghassan Alian, 10 October 2023, https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5a0EWv-o7mE.
466 “Former security
officials and strategic
advisor: the ‘cabinet’ established by Gallant
for himself”, Yedioth Ahronoth
(26 October 2023), https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/r1zlcnoga.
is
their choice.”467 On the same day, he asserted in a
national newspaper that “[w]hen you are
at war with another country you don't feed them, you don't provide them
electricity or gas or water or
anything else . . . A country can be
attacked in a much broader way, to bring the
country to the brink of dysfunction. This is the necessary outcome of
events” in Gaza.468 He has
repeatedly asserted the benefits for Israel of the creation
of a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, stating that “Israel has no interest in the Gaza
Strip being rehabilitated and this is an important point that needs to be made clear to the Americans”,469 and that “[i]f we ever want
to see the hostages alive, the only way is to create a severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza”.470 He has indicated that water should be targeted, noting
that water in Gaza “comes from wells with salt water unfit for consumption.
They have water treatment plants, Israel should hit those plants. When the
entire world says we have gone insane and this is a humanitarian disaster — we
will say, it’s not an end, it’s a means.”471 In a Times radio interview on 12 October 2023, he
reiterated the army should:
“[C]reate such a huge pressure on Gaza, that Gaza will become an area
where people cannot live. People cannot live, until Hamas is destroyed, which
means that Israel not only stops to supply energy, diesel, water, food … as we
did in the last twenty years … but we should prevent any possible assistance by
others, and to create in Gaza such a terrible, unbearable situation, that can
last weeks and months”.472
Giora
Eiland has repeatedly been given a media platform to call for Gaza to be made
uninhabitable, declaring “the State of
Israel has no choice but to make Gaza a place that is temporarily, or
permanently, impossible to live in.”473 In an interview on 6 November 2023, he suggested that, “if there is an
intention for a military action at Shifa [Hospital], which I think is
inescapable, I hope that the head of the CIA
got an explanation of why this is necessary, and why the US must ultimately back even an
operation like this, even if there are thousands of bodies of civilians in the
streets afterward.”474 Further he proposed
that “Israel needs to create a
humanitarian crisis in Gaza, compelling tens of thousands or even hundreds of
thousands to seek refuge in Egypt or the Gulf . . . Gaza will become a place where no human being can exist.”475 Echoing the words of
President Herzog, he has repeatedly underscored that there should be no
distinction between Hamas combatants and Palestinian civilians, saying:
467 Giora Eiland, “A new turning point in the history of the State of Israel.
Most people don’t understand that”, Fathom
(7 October 2023), https://fathomjournal.org/opinion-a-new-turning-point-in-the-history-of-the-state-of-israel-most-people-dont-
understand-that/ (emphasis added).
468 Giora Eiland,
“The state of Gaza has started a war against
Israel - and it should
be fought accordingly”, Mako (7
October 2023), https://www.mako.co.il/news-columns/2023_q4/Article-fcf787ad0ba0b81027.htm (emphasis added).
469 Interview with Giora Eiland
on Kann News, 17 November
2023. Kann News, @kann_news, Tweet
(6:42 pm, November 17 2023), https://twitter.com/kann_news/status/1725585143333622129
(emphasis added).
470 Ariel Whitman, “Giora Eiland outlines plan to get hostages back alive”, Globes (8 October 2023), https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-giora-eiland-outlines-plan-to-get-hostages-back-alive-1001459631
(emphasis added). 471 “How should one respond to the massacre of hundreds?”, Yedioth Ahronoth (print) (9 October
2023), https://drive.google.com/file/d/1l5Ow2T0Na20BcoL2yautiobij8ldNsVK/view.
472 How
Israel plan to ‘destroy Hamas’ | Major General Giora Eiland, 12 October 2023,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRHz0dZwF2A.
473 Giora Eiland,
“This is not revenge. It's either us or them”,
Yedioth Ahronoth (10 October
2023), https://www.ynet.co.il/yedioth/article/yokra13625377 (emphasis added).
474 “Ex-top general: IDF op against Hamas at Shifa Hospital inescapable; US
must back it”, The Times of Israel (6
November
2023), https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/ex-top-general-idf-op-against-hamas-at-shifa-hospital- inescapable-us-must-back-it/ (emphasis added).
475 Giora Eiland,
“It's time to rip off the Hamas band-aid”, Yedioth Ahronoth
(12 October 2023), https://www.ynetnews.com/article/sju3uabba (emphasis added).
“Who
are the ‘poor’ women of Gaza? They are all the mothers, sisters or wives of
Hamas murderers. On the one hand, they are part of the infrastructure that
supports the organization, and on the other hand, if they experience a
humanitarian disaster, then it can be assumed that some of the Hamas fighters
and the more junior commanders will begin to understand that the war is futile
. . . The international community warns us of a humanitarian disaster in Gaza
and of severe epidemics. We must not
shy away from this, as difficult as that may be. After all, severe epidemics in the south of the Gaza
Strip will bring victory closer . . . It is precisely its civil collapse that will bring the end of the war closer. When senior Israeli figures say
in the media ‘It's either us or them’ we should clarify the question of who is
‘them’. ‘They’ are not only Hamas fighters with weapons, but also all the ‘civilian’ officials, including
hospital administrators and school administrators, and also the entire Gaza population who
enthusiastically supported Hamas and cheered on its atrocities on October 7th.”476
—
Israeli
Army reservist “motivational speech”: On 11 October 2023, 95-year old
Israeli army reservist Ezra Yachin — a veteran of the Deir Yassin massacre
during the 1948 Nakba — reportedly called up for reserve duty to “boost morale”
amongst Israeli troops ahead of the
ground invasion, was broadcast on social media inciting other soldiers to
genocide as follows, while being driven around in an Israeli army vehicle,
dressed in Israeli army fatigues:
“Be
triumphant and finish them off and don’t leave anyone behind. Erase the memory of them. Erase them, their
families, mothers and children. These animals can no longer live
. . . Every Jew with a weapon
should go out and kill them. If you have an Arab neighbour,
don't wait, go to his home and shoot him . . . We want to invade, not like
before, we want to enter and destroy
what’s in front of us, and destroy houses, then destroy the one after it. With
all of our forces, complete destruction,
enter and destroy. As you can see, we
will witness things we’ve never dreamed of. Let them drop bombs on them and
erase them.”477
—
Head of the
Israeli army’s Air Operations Group: On 28 October 2023, Lieutenant
colonel Gilad Kinan described the Air
Force as “work[ing] together with all the bodies in the IDF when the goal is clear — to destroy everything that has been touched by the hand of Hamas”.478
—
Commander
in the 2908th Battalion of the Israeli army: In a video posted online on 21 December 2023, Yair Ben David said that the Israeli army had “entered Beit Hanoun
and did there as Shimon and Levi did in
Nablus,” and that “[t]he entire Gaza should resemble Beit Hanoun”, referring to
the city in northern Gaza which has been entirely devastated by the Israeli
army..479 The
biblical passage in issue reads: “On the third day, when they were in pain, Simeon
477 Bazz
News, @1717Bazz, Tweet (7:39 pm, October 11, 2023),
https://twitter.com/1717Bazz/status/1712176168823107986. Translation by Middle East
Eye, @MiddleEastEye, Tweet
(8:48 pm, October 13, 2023), https://twitter.com/MiddleEastEye/status/1712918166437806294
(emphasis added).
478 Israel
Defense Forces, @idfonline, Tweet (6:23 am, October 28, 2023),
https://twitter.com/idfonline/status/1718136442805686351.
Informal translation, emphasis added.
479 Yair Ben David, Commander in the 2908th Battalion, statement, 20 December
2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NK8ZnGKspeI. Translation in “War on Gaza: Israeli
commander vows to flatten 'entire' Gaza Strip”, Middle East Eye (21 December
2023), https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/war-gaza-israeli-commander-vows- flatten-entire-gaza-strip.
and Levi, two of Jacob’s sons, brothers of Dinah, took
each his sword, came upon the city unmolested, and slew all the males”.480
3.
The above statements by Israeli decision-makers and
military officials indicate in and of themselves
a clear intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza as a group “as such”. They also
constitute clear direct and public incitement to genocide, which has gone
unchecked and unpunished. The clear inference from the acts of the Israeli army
on the ground — including from the vast number of civilians killed and injured, and the scale of displacement,
destruction and devastation wrought in Gaza — is that those genocidal
statements and directives are being implemented against the Palestinian people.
That is also the clear and necessary inference to be drawn from the emerging
evidence from Israeli army soldiers serving in Gaza, including those stationed
on the ground:
—
Israeli
Army Colonel, Deputy Head of COGAT: speaking in a video filmed in
Beit Lahia — one of the areas of Gaza
which appears to have suffered particularly severe levels of destruction — and
broadcast on Israeli television on 4 November 2023, Colonel Yogev Bar- Sheshet stated: “[w]hoever returns
here, if they return here after, will find scorched earth. No houses, no
agriculture, no nothing. They have no future;” another Army Colonel recorded
in the same video, Colonel Erez Eshel
(Reserve), also commented that: “Vengeance is a great value. There is vengeance
over what they did to us … This place will be a fallow land. They will not be
able to live here”.481
—
Israeli
army soldiers: Israeli soldiers in uniform have been filmed on 5 December
2023 dancing, chanting and singing “May their village burn, May Gaza be
erased”;482 and, two
days later, on a separate occasion inside
Gaza on 7 December 2023, dancing, singing and chanting, “we know our motto:
there are no uninvolved civilians”
and “to wipe off the seed of Amalek”.483
4.
Notably, the second video of soldiers chanting that
there are “no uninvolved citizens” in Gaza and that they will “wipe off the
seed of Amalek” was filmed on 7 December 2023. By that date, 17,177
Palestinians in Gaza had been killed — an estimated 70 per cent of whom were women and children. 7-8
December 2023 was particularly devasting for Palestinians, with 350 people
killed in the space of 24 hours —
approximately one Palestinian in Gaza killed every four minutes.484
5.
This genocidal rhetoric of governmental and military
officials is also widespread and commonplace amongst non-cabinet members of the
Israeli Knesset (‘MKs’) who have repeatedly called
481
Channel 14 segment,
4 November 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqEj3DzadiM: “Special
documentation from the heart
of Gaza: this is how our forces fight deep in enemy territory”, Now 14 (5 November 2023), https://www.now14.co.il/נלחמים-כוחותינו-כך-עזה-מלב-מיוחד-תיעוד/.
482 Video of Kobi Peretz
with soldiers, 17 November 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcH2o4c5KZY (emphasis added).
for Gaza to be “wiped out”,485 “flatten[ed]”,486 “eras[ed]”,487 and “[c]rush[ed] . . . on
all its inhabitants”.488 Parliamentarians
have publicly deplored anyone “feel[ing] sorry” for the “uninvolved” Gazans,
asserting repeatedly that “there are no uninvolved”,489 that “[t]here are no innocents in Gaza”,490 that “the killers of the
women and children should not be separated from the citizens of Gaza”,491 that “the children of Gaza
have brought this upon themselves”,492 and
that “there should be one sentence for everyone there — death”.493 Parliamentarians have
stated “[w]e must not forget that even the ‘innocent citizens’ — the cruel and
monstrous people from Gaza took an active part . . . there is no place for any
humanitarian gesture — the memory of Amalek must be protested”,494 and that “[w]ithout hunger
and thirst among the Gazan population, we will not be able to recruit
collaborators”.495 Parliamentarians
have also called for “mercilessly” bombing “from the air”,496 calling for the use of
nuclear (“doomsday”) weapons,497 and
a “Nakba that will overshadow the Nakba of 48”.498
6.
Similar genocidal rhetoric is also commonplace in
Israeli civil society, with genocidal messages being routinely broadcast —
without censure or sanction — in Israeli media. The media reports call for Gaza
to be “erase[d],”499 turned into
a “slaughterhouse”,500 that “Hamas
should not be eliminated” but rather “Gaza should
be razed”,501
on the repeated
claim that “[t]here
are no innocents… There is no
485 Revital Gottlieb, @TallyGotliv, Tweet (5:10 pm, October 29, 2023), https://twitter.com/TallyGotliv/status/1718676748542296207.
486 Interview
with Katrin “Keti” Shitrit-Peretz on Now 14, 1 November 2023: Now 14,
@Now14Israel, Tweet (9:50 pm,
November 1, 2023),
https://twitter.com/Now14Israel/status/1719834297832526215; Revital
Gottlieb, @TallyGotliv, Tweet (10:41 am, October 10, 2023), https://twitter.com/TallyGotliv/status/1711678420235534705.
487 Galit Atbaryan, @GalitDistel, Tweet (12:13 pm, November 1, 2023), https://twitter.com/galitdistel/status/1719689095230730656.
488 Eliyahu
Revivo, @revivoeliyahu, Tweet (2:46 pm, November 1, 2023),
https://twitter.com/revivoeliyahu/status/1719727722459508915.
489 Revital Gottlieb, @TallyGotliv, Tweet (3:46 pm, December 7, 2023), https://twitter.com/TallyGotliv/status/1732788632430186872.
490 Avigdor Lieberman, @AvigdorLiberman, Tweet (6:45 pm, November 30, 2023), https://twitter.com/avigdorliberman/status/1730297081959530685 (emphasis
added).
491 Interview
with Katrin “Keti” Shitrit-Peretz on Now 14, 1 November 2023: Now 14,
@Now14Israel, Tweet (9:50 pm,
November 1, 2023), https://twitter.com/Now14Israel/status/1719834297832526215
(emphasis added).
492 Meirav Ben-Ari, Knesset Session, 16 October 2023, https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=watch_permalink&v=3497251110531404 [2:29:57] (emphasis added). Translation
by Jonathan Ofir, “Israeli Politician Says ‘Children of Gaza Have Brought This Upon Themselves’”, Truthout (18
October 2023), https://truthout.org/articles/israeli-politician-says-children-of-gaza-have-brought-this-upon-themselves/.
493 “MK Yitzhak Kroizer: “The Gaza Strip should be wiped off the map”, Galey Israel (5 November 2023) https://www.gly.co.il/item?id=30587.
Translation in “Fire
Israel’s Far Right”,
Haaretz (6 November 2023),
https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/editorial/2023-11- 06/ty-article/.premium/fire-israels-far-right/0000018b-a11c-dc0b-a1cb-e5de69890000.
494 Boaz Bismuth, @BismuthBoaz, Tweet (8:02 am, October 16, 2023) https://twitter.com/BismuthBoaz/status/1713812686784311358.
495 Statement
by Revital Gottlieb in the Knesset, 23 October 2023: Knesset Channel,
@KnessetT, Tweet (6:10 pm, October
23, 2023), https://twitter.com/KnessetT/status/1716502486331113922.
496 Revital Gottlieb, @TallyGotliv, Tweet (7:39 am, December
13, 2023), https://twitter.com/TallyGotliv/status/1734840416522948800.
497 Revital Gottlieb,
@TallyGotliv, Tweet (5:59 pm, October
9, 2023) https://twitter.com/TallyGotliv/status/1711426284322996613.
498 Ariel Kallner, @ArielKallner, Tweet (10:29 pm, October 7, 2023), https://twitter.com/ArielKallner/status/1710769363119141268. Translated in the New Arab: “'Erase
Gaza': How genocidal rhetoric became normalised in Israel”, The New Arab (30
November 2023), https://www.newarab.com/analysis/erase-gaza- how-genocidal-rhetoric-normalised-israel
and informal translation.
499 Interview
with Eyal Golan on Now 14, 15 October 2023: Now 14, @Now14Israel, Tweet (1:24
pm, October 15, 2023),
https://twitter.com/Now14Israel/status/1713531211300167928.
500 David Mizrahy
Verthaim, @dverthaim, Tweet (4:52 pm, October 7, 2023),
https://twitter.com/dverthaim/status/1710684531114602891.
501 Moshe Feiglin, @moshefeiglin, Tweet (6:16 am, October 12, 2023), https://twitter.com/moshefeiglin/status/1712336429982846977.
population. There are 2.5 million
terrorists”.502 One local official, reportedly called for
Gaza to be “desolate and destroyed” like the Auschwitz Museum, “demonstrating
the madness of the people who lived there”.503 Former MKs have called for a level of
destruction akin to that of Dresden and Hiroshima,504 asserting that it would be “immoral” for the
Israeli army not to show themselves to be “vengeful and cruel”.505 In an Israeli news
interview, one former MK called for all Palestinians in Gaza to be killed
saying:
“I
tell you, in Gaza without exception, they
are all terrorists, sons of dogs. They
must be exterminated, all of them killed. We will flatten Gaza, turn them
to dust, and the army will cleanse the
area. Then we will start building new areas, for us, above all, for our
security.”506
7.
Those statements by prominent members of Israeli
society — including former
parliamentarians and news anchors — constitute clear direct and public
incitement to genocide, which has gone unchecked and unpunished by the Israeli
authorities. That such sentiment appears to be so widespread and mainstream in
Israeli society is of particular concern, in circumstances where the soldiers
serving in Gaza are largely reservists, drawn from and informed by civil society.
A. Recognition of Israel’s genocidal intent against Palestinians
1.
As set out above, numerous States have rightly
recognised Israel’s statements in relation to Gaza as demonstrating genocidal
intent. That assessment is shared by a significant number of United Nations experts who have
repeatedly warned since at least mid-October 2023 that the Palestinian people
are at grave risk of genocide by Israel. By way of example:
—
On 19 October 2023, nine United Nations Special Rapporteurs sounded “the alarm”,
warning that “[t]here is an ongoing campaign by Israel resulting in crimes
against humanity in Gaza. Considering statements made by Israeli political
leaders and their allies, accompanied by military action in Gaza and escalation
of arrests and killing in the West Bank, there is also a risk of
genocide against the Palestine People.” 507
—
On 27 October 2023, the United Nations Committee on the
Elimination of Racial Discrimination underscored that it was “[h]ighly concerned
about the sharp increase in racist
502 Interview with Eliyahu Yossain
on Now 14 Israel, 29 October 2023: Now 14, @Now14Israel, Tweet (9:32 pm, October
29, 2023), https://twitter.com/Now14Israel/status/1718742747455053922. Translated by Ahmed Eldin,
Instagram Post (30 October 2023) https://www.instagram.com/reel/CzB77tJrjtW/.
503 “Israel should
make Gaza look like Auschwitz - council head”,
Jerusalem Post (17 December
2023), https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-778367.
504 Interview
with Moshe Feiglin on Aljazeera, 25 October 2023,
https://www.aljazeeramubasher.net/news/politics/2023/10/25/سيناريو-لتكرار-يدعو-سابق-كنيست-عضو. 505 Galit
Distel Atbaryan, @GalitDistel, Tweet (12:13 pm, November 1, 2023), https://twitter.com/galitdistel/status/1719689095230730656.
506 “Former Israeli Knesset member calls on the complete destruction of
Gaza”, Middle East Eye (25 December
2023), https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/former-israeli-knesset-member-calls-complete-destruction-gaza. 507
UN OHCHR, Gaza: UN experts decry bombing of hospitals and schools as crimes against
humanity, call for prevention
of genocide (19 October
2023), https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/10/gaza-un-experts-decry-bombing-hospitals- and-schools-crimes-against-humanity (emphasis
added). The statement was made by
Pedro Arrojo Agudo, Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking
water and sanitation; Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights
in the Palestinian Territory occupied
since 1967; Reem Alsalem, Special
Rapporteur on violence against women and girls; Paula
Gaviria Betancur, Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally
displaced persons; Michael Fakhri, Special
Rapporteur on the right to food; Tlaleng
Mofokeng, Special Rapporteur on the right
of everyone to the
enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical
and mental health;
Balakrishnan Rajagopal, Special
Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing; Farida Shaheed, Special
Rapporteur on the right to education; Ashwini K.P., Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism,
racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
hate speech and dehumanization directed
at Palestinians since 7 October, particularly on the Internet and in social
media, including by senior officials, politicians, members of the Parliament,
and public figures, particularly the statement of 9 October made by the Israeli
Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, in which he referred to Palestinians as
‘human animals’, language which could incite
genocidal actions.”508
—
On 28 October 2023, the Director of the New York Office of the High Commissioner of Human
Rights (‘OHCHR’) stepped down, after penning a widely reported resignation
statement describing the situation in Gaza as a “text-book case of genocide”.509
—
On 2 November 2023, eight Special Rapporteurs warned that they “remain convinced that the Palestinian people are at grave risk of
genocide.” The experts stated that “[t]he time for action is now”, underscoring that
“Israel’s allies also bear responsibility and must act now to prevent its disastrous course of action”.510
— On 16 November 2023, 15 United Nations Special Rapporteurs and 21 members of United Nations Working Groups cautioned that “[g]rave violations committed by Israel against Palestinians in the aftermath of 7 October, particularly in Gaza, point to a genocide in the making”. The statement highlights “evidence of increasing genocidal incitement, overt intent to “destroy the Palestinian people under occupation”, loud calls for a ‘second Nakba’ in Gaza and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory, and the use of powerful weaponry with inherently indiscriminate impacts, resulting in a colossal death toll and destruction of life- sustaining infrastructure”. The experts expressed “profound … concern … about … the failure of the international system to mobilise to prevent genocide”, cautioning that “[t]he failure to urgently implement a ceasefire risks this situation spiralling towards a genocide conducted with 21st century means and methods of warfare”; they called on “[t]he international community, including not only States but also non-State actors” to “do everything it can to immediately end the risk of genocide against the Palestinian people”.511
508 CERD, Statement 5 (2023) Israel and
the State of Palestine (27 October 2023), https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=INT%2 FCERD%2FSWA%2F9904 (emphasis added).
509 Letter from Craig Mokhiber to Volker Türk, High Commissioner for Human
Rights (28 October 2023), https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/24103463/craig-mokhiber-resignation-letter.pdf (emphasis
added).
510 UN OHCHR,
Gaza is ‘running out of time’
UN experts warn,
demanding a ceasefire to prevent genocide
(2 November 2023), https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/11/gaza-running-out-time-un-experts-warn-demanding-ceasefire- prevent-genocide (emphasis added).
The statement was made by the above
Special Rapporteurs on safe drinking
water; the Palestinian Territory; violence against women
and girls; internally displaced persons; food; physical and mental health;
and racism; as well as Irene Khan, Special
Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom
of opinion and expression.
511 UN OHCHR, Gaza: UN experts
call on international community to prevent genocide
against the Palestinian people (16 November
2023), https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/11/gaza-un-experts-call-international-community-prevent- genocide-against
(emphasis added). The statement was made by the above
Special Rapporteurs on the Palestinian Territory; safe drinking water; education; adequate
housing; racism; internally displaced persons; freedom
of opinion and expression;
violence against women
and girls; as well as by Margaret
Satterthwaite, Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and
Lawyers; Surya Deva, Special Rapporteur on the right to development; Olivier De
Schutter, Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights;
Siobhán Mullally, Special
Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children; Mary Lawlor, Special
Rapporteur on the situation of human rights
defenders; Ben Saul, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and
protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism;
and Tomoya Obokata, Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery,
including its causes and consequences; as well as by Livingstone Sewanyana,
Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international
order; Claudia Mahler, Independent Expert on the enjoyment
of all human rights by older persons;
as well as by Barbara
G. Reynolds (Chair),
Bina D’Costa, Dominique Day, Catherine Namakula,
Working Group of experts on people of African Descent;
Dorothy Estrada Tanck (Chair),
Claudia Flores, Ivana Krstić, Haina Lu, and Laura Nyirinkindi, Working Group on discrimination against
—
On 20 November 2023, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on
violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences, issued
a statement warning that “[s]ince 7 October, the assault on Palestinian women’s
dignity and rights has taken on new and terrifying dimensions, as thousands
have become victims of war crimes, crimes against humanity and an unfolding genocide”. The Special
Rapporteur “expressed alarm at the genocidal
and dehumanising rhetoric about the Palestinian people, including women and
children, by top Israeli Government officials and public figures calling them
“children of darkness””. The Special Rapporteur referred to the description of
Palestinians as ‘human animals’ and the calls for a ‘second Nakba’ by Israeli
officials, cautioning that “[s]uch statements
make the Israeli Government’s intention to destroy the Palestinian people, in
whole or in part, absolutely and consistently
clear”.512
—
On 8 December 2023, ahead of the United Nations
Security Council ceasefire resolution vote vetoed by the United States of
America, 22 United Nations Special
Rapporteurs and 28 Members of United Nations Working Groups reiterated
their previous statement “warning against the commission of genocide”.513
—
On 21 December 2023, the Committee on the
Elimination of Racial Discrimination, acting under its ‘early warning and
urgent action procedure’, reiterating its earlier statement, and warning of
“hate speech and dehumanising discourse targeted at Palestinians, raising
severe concerns regarding Israel’s and
other State parties’ obligation to prevent … genocide”. The Committee
called on “all State parties to fully
respect their international obligations, in particular those arising from …
the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and to
cooperate to bring an end [to] the
violations that are taking place and to prevent … genocide”. The Committee
made detailed reference to the ongoing situation in Gaza, stating inter alia that it was “gravely
concerned about the racist hate speech, incitement to violence and genocidal
actions, as well as dehumanizing rhetoric targeted at Palestinians since
512 UN OHCHR, Women bearing the brunt
of Israel-Gaza conflict: UN expert (20 November 2023), https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/11/women-bearing-brunt-israel-gaza-conflict-un-expert (emphasis added). 513 UN OHCHR,
UN experts urge States to unite for peace
and push for ceasefire in Gaza (8 December 2023), https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/12/un-experts-urge-states-unite-peace-and-push-ceasefire-gaza (emphasis added). The statement
was made by the above Special Rapporteurs on safe drinking
water; the Palestinian Territory;
violence against women and girls; internally displaced
persons; development; extreme
poverty; food; freedom
of opinion and expression; human rights defenders;
physical and mental health; trafficking in persons; contemporary forms of
slavery; adequate housing; independence of judges and lawyers; countering terrorism; education; and racism; as well as David Boyd, Special Rapporteur on the issue of
human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy
and sustainable environment; Beatriz
Miranda Galarza, Special
Rapporteur on the elimination of discrimination against
persons affected by leprosy and their family members; Clément
Nyaletsossi Voule, Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful
assembly and of association; Francisco Cali Tzay, Special Rapporteur on the
rights of indigenous peoples; and Alexandra Xanthaki, Special Rapporteur in the
field of cultural rights; as well as by the above members of the working group
on People of African Descent; discrimination against women and girls; the use
of mercenaries; human rights and transnational
corporations and other
business enterprises; and Aua Baldé
(Chair-Rapporteur), Gabriella Citroni
(Vice-Chair), Angkhana Neelapaijit, Grażyna Baranowska, Ana Lorena
Delgadillo Perez, Working Group on enforced or involuntary disappearances; as
well as the above Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by
older persons; Cecilia Bailliet, Independent Expert on human rights and
international solidarity; Graeme Reid, Independent Expert on Protection against
violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity;
and Attiya Waris, Independent Expert on the effects of foreign debt and other
related international financial obligations of States on the full enjoyment of
all human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights.
7 October 2023 by Israeli senior
government officials, members of the Parliament, politicians
and public figures”.514
2.
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation has repeatedly
condemned Israel’s military actions in Gaza as “genocide”,515 as has the Arab group at the
United Nations.516 The
International Federation for Human Rights have called for an end to the
“genocide”, with the International Commission of Jurists calling on third
States “to take all reasonable measures within their power to prevent genocide
in Gaza”.517 Palestinian
non-governmental organisations have also strongly condemned the genocide,
calling on the International Criminal Court to investigate the crime.518 The Palestinian Human Rights
Organizations Council on 14 November 2023 issued a detailed briefing note
calling on the State of Palestine and third States to intervene taking concrete
measures and legal action to prevent genocide in Gaza. The report cautions that
“[t]here have been significant warnings by United Nations independent human
rights experts, as well as actions taken by third States, including the removal
of their diplomatic missions from Israel, some in response to the ongoing Israeli genocidal statements
and acts. Together, these warnings and State actions put the international
community of States on notice, that there is a very real risk that genocide is
being, or may be committed against
Palestinians in Gaza”.519
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