U.N. Commission Finds That Israel Is Committing Genocide in Gaza: What Does It Mean?
Abstract
On Sept. 16, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory (COI) published a report finding that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. The Commission concluded that Israel has committed four of the five underlying acts of genocide listed in the 1948 Genocide Convention (killing, causing serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about physical destruction, and imposing measures intended to prevent births), and that it has done so with the specific intent to destroy Palestinians as a group. The commission’s findings build on its earlier reports that considered crimes against humanity and war crimes.
As experts take time to digest the detailed factual findings and legal assessments within the report, the headline finding of genocide is attracting global attention. In the following Q & A, I aim to provide some context for those seeking to understand what it does (and does not) mean for a commission like this to make a genocide determination.
External Links
https://www.justsecurity.org/120762/coi-genocide-israel-gaza/
Repository Citation
Rebecca Hamilton,
U.N. Commission Finds That Israel Is Committing Genocide in Gaza: What Does It Mean?,
JUST SECURITY
(2025).
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/facsch_lawrev/2347