A report published by an independent UN commission has concluded that Israel has committed and continues to commit genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
The commission was established by the UN in May 2021 as a fact-finding mission to investigate alleged violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel.
Professor Shane Darcy of the Irish Centre for Human Rights at the University of Galway spoke to RTÉ’s News at One about who reached the conclusions, how they were reached and what impact the report will have on addressing the suffering in Gaza.
Who compiled the report?
The report was compiled by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel.
Professor Darcy said the commission looks at the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel.
"It's a common practice within the United Nations to establish commisions of inquiry," Professor Darcy said.
"They've done so in numerous conflicts and they feed into the political discussion that happens and they also feed into later judicial inquiries that might take place."
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How did the report’s authors go about making the findings?
In its report, the commission applied the framework of the 1948 Genocide Convention to events in Gaza since October 2023.
The crime of genocide, as defined by the Convention, is "quite a complex and detailed offence at times", Professor Darcy said.
"What the commission have done is they’ve taken the individual components of genocide and applied them in the context of Gaza," he said.
The commission examined the situation going back to October 2023, Professor Darcy said.
"In terms of the type of evidence they’ve used, they’ve relied on media reporting, open-source information, testimony of witnesses, whether that’s eyewitnesses or expert witnesses, such as medical doctors."
Professor Darcy said the report focuses on a number of individuals for the crime of incitement to genocide, naming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.
Two of these individuals - Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant - are already subject to arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court.
"But the bulk of the report looks in the main at those underlying acts of genocide," Professor Darcy said.
Which acts of genocide did the report find Israel committed?
The report found Israeli authorities and security forces committed four of the five genocidal acts as defined by the 1948 Genocide Convention.
The four acts relevant to this report, Professor Darcy said, are: "killings, physical and mental harm, conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of a group; and imposing measures to prevent birth within the group."
The report goes through each of those four acts, Professor Darcy said.
"You have to establish that those acts have taken place and with an intent to destroy a particular group."
He added that the report did not examine a fifth act - forcibly transferring children of the group to another group - which he said the commission did not find relevant in this context.
On the specific act of imposing measures to prevent birth, Professor Darcy said the commission presented evidence including the deliberate destruction of Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure, including an IVF clinic, and Israel creating conditions that have led to a 300% increase in miscarriages.
Pregnant women being frequently forced to give birth in unsafe environments such as tents or private homes was also put forward by the commission as evidence supporting this genocidal act, Professor Darcy said.
Does the commission address Israel’s arguments?
Professor Darcy said the commission does not directly take on Israeli arguments against the accusation of genocide, including that it is acting in self-defence and acting to secure the release of hostages taken by Hamas.
"Frankly, those arguments don’t hold water anymore," he said.
"There is no defence to genocide. You cannot argue that you are simply acting in self-defence. Even if you are acting in self-defence, you have to comply with the applicable rules of international humanitarian law, the Geneva conventions, but also you cannot engage in genocide and claim that you are acting in self-defence."
Professor Darcy added that Israeli arguments that the commission is biased also do not hold water.
"Every commission of inquiry that the UN has established in relation to Palestine has been attacked by Israel. Every single UN special rapporteur, the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court.
"The charge of anti-Semitism that is being labelled is being hollowed out, it's losing its meaning by the way in which it's being thrown around."
How do the findings affect other countries?
One of the key findings of the report, Professor Darcy said, is the obligations which require other countries to cooperate to bring an end to genocide.
"They must ensure that Israel complies with international law. They must investigate and prosecute, and that could be through supporting the International Criminal Court.
"But principally they must prevent it by not providing any aid or assistance to the state of Israel that contributes to this."
Professor Darcy said the report "talks specifically about weapons" and also addresses sanctions.
"These are common sorts of enforcement measures in international law that are used in all sorts of situations that are not being applied here, so it [the report] talks specifically about that having to happen."
Will the findings make any difference on the ground in Gaza?
Despite the gravity of the findings, Professor Darcy said the publication of the report alone will not halt the ongoing crisis in Gaza.
However, he said the report has changed the conversation, adding that international action must now extend beyond debates over illegal settlements to address the "range of illegal activity that Israel is engaging in, which is now authoritatively found to include the crime of genocide".
"I can hear people saying no matter how many reports are critical of Israel, no matter how many world leaders criticise its actions at the moment, that doesn't make any difference.
"And it makes no difference to the victims in Gaza. I think that's the biggest thing that we have to be aware of.
"The report in and of itself, despite being from the highest UN body to date that has made this finding, it's not going to stop what's happening in Gaza.
"It's not going to stop Israel unless other states act."
