Advocates are reigniting calls for an arms embargo on Israel after landmark findings that Israel is committing genocide.
By Sharon Zhang ,
December 5, 2024
Rep. Rashida Tlaib speaks during a news conference calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on November 13, 2023.
Mandel Ngan / AFP via Getty Images
Advocates for Palestinian rights have reignited their calls for the U.S. to stop sending arms to Israel following a landmark Amnesty International investigation concluding that Israel is committing genocide, as many Palestinians and experts have been saying for months.
“My colleagues can no longer deny that this is genocide,” said Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan). “We must follow our own U.S. laws. We need an Arms Embargo now.”
On Thursday, Amnesty released a sprawling report determining that Israel’s assault of Gaza amounts to genocide, citing Israel’s relentless attacks, blocking of humanitarian aid, targeting of health and other basic infrastructure, forced displacement of 90 percent of Gaza’s population, and more.
Amnesty is the first major international humanitarian organization to outright label Israel’s actions as a genocide. The group was also one of the first major human rights organizations to label Israel’s violent occupation and oppression of Palestine as apartheid, back in 2022.
The human rights group, one of the largest in the world, specifically called out the U.S. as a major collaborator in the genocide due to the Biden administration’s policy of sending Israel weapons with zero red lines. Just last week, despite Israel’s clear, ongoing campaign of ethnic cleansing in northern Gaza, reports emerged of the Biden administration advancing yet another sale of weapons to Israel worth $680 million.
Related Stor
Advocates for Palestinian rights have reignited their calls for the U.S. to stop sending arms to Israel following a landmark Amnesty International investigation concluding that Israel is committing genocide, as many Palestinians and experts have been saying for months.
“My colleagues can no longer deny that this is genocide,” said Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan). “We must follow our own U.S. laws. We need an Arms Embargo now.”
On Thursday, Amnesty released a sprawling report determining that Israel’s assault of Gaza amounts to genocide, citing Israel’s relentless attacks, blocking of humanitarian aid, targeting of health and other basic infrastructure, forced displacement of 90 percent of Gaza’s population, and more.
Amnesty is the first major international humanitarian organization to outright label Israel’s actions as a genocide. The group was also one of the first major human rights organizations to label Israel’s violent occupation and oppression of Palestine as apartheid, back in 2022.
The human rights group, one of the largest in the world, specifically called out the U.S. as a major collaborator in the genocide due to the Biden administration’s policy of sending Israel weapons with zero red lines. Just last week, despite Israel’s clear, ongoing campaign of ethnic cleansing in northern Gaza, reports emerged of the Biden administration advancing yet another sale of weapons to Israel worth $680 million.
Related Stor
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Amnesty International Finds Israel Is Committing Genocide in Bombshell Report
“Genocidal intent has been part and parcel of Israel’s conduct in Gaza since 7 October 2023,” the report says.
By Sharon Zhang , TruthoutDecember 5, 2024
Amnesty warned that states continuing to send weapons are risking legal complicity in genocide.
Amnesty also called on UN bodies like the Security Council and the General Assembly to take immediate action to implement a permanent ceasefire and a “comprehensive arms embargo” on Israel.
“We welcome the fact that an internationally-respected organization like Amnesty International would clearly state what has become obvious to the entire world — with the exception of Biden administration officials,” said Nihad Awad, the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), in a statement.
“Based on the conclusion of this report and on countless similar reports documenting Israel’s genocide, we demand that President Biden order an immediate ban on weapons deliveries to the genocidal Israeli government,” Awad went on.
In the past 14 months, Israeli forces have killed at least 44,500 Palestinians in Gaza, including 17,500 children, and injured at least 105,000, according to official counts by Gaza health officials. As Amnesty and international experts have acknowledged, the death toll is likely far higher, with some estimates ranging as high as 330,000, out of a pre-genocide population of 2.3 million.
UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territory Francesca Albanese warned in September that Israel “could end up exterminating almost the entire population in Gaza” within the next two years if international powers do not intervene to stop it.
The leadership committee for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement lauded the report. “We now call on Amnesty International members and sections to step up their pressure on complicit states, corporations and institutions to end their complicity with Israel’s regime of settler-colonialism, military occupation, apartheid and genocide,” the BDS National Committee said in a statement.
“Stopping Israel’s genocide demands mounting enormous pressure on governments to impose meaningful sanctions on Israel, starting with a comprehensive military-security embargo, as was done against apartheid South Africa,” the group continued.
Amnesty International Finds Israel Is Committing Genocide in Bombshell Report
“Genocidal intent has been part and parcel of Israel’s conduct in Gaza since 7 October 2023,” the report says.
By Sharon Zhang , TruthoutDecember 5, 2024
Amnesty warned that states continuing to send weapons are risking legal complicity in genocide.
Amnesty also called on UN bodies like the Security Council and the General Assembly to take immediate action to implement a permanent ceasefire and a “comprehensive arms embargo” on Israel.
“We welcome the fact that an internationally-respected organization like Amnesty International would clearly state what has become obvious to the entire world — with the exception of Biden administration officials,” said Nihad Awad, the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), in a statement.
“Based on the conclusion of this report and on countless similar reports documenting Israel’s genocide, we demand that President Biden order an immediate ban on weapons deliveries to the genocidal Israeli government,” Awad went on.
In the past 14 months, Israeli forces have killed at least 44,500 Palestinians in Gaza, including 17,500 children, and injured at least 105,000, according to official counts by Gaza health officials. As Amnesty and international experts have acknowledged, the death toll is likely far higher, with some estimates ranging as high as 330,000, out of a pre-genocide population of 2.3 million.
UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territory Francesca Albanese warned in September that Israel “could end up exterminating almost the entire population in Gaza” within the next two years if international powers do not intervene to stop it.
The leadership committee for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement lauded the report. “We now call on Amnesty International members and sections to step up their pressure on complicit states, corporations and institutions to end their complicity with Israel’s regime of settler-colonialism, military occupation, apartheid and genocide,” the BDS National Committee said in a statement.
“Stopping Israel’s genocide demands mounting enormous pressure on governments to impose meaningful sanctions on Israel, starting with a comprehensive military-security embargo, as was done against apartheid South Africa,” the group continued.
Amnesty International Finds Israel Is Committing Genocide in Bombshell Report
“Genocidal intent has been part and parcel of Israel’s conduct in Gaza since 7 October 2023,” the report says.
By Sharon Zhang ,
UN Report: Israel’s Tactics in Gaza Are “Consistent With Genocide”
Israel’s “unprecedented destruction” has deprived Palestinians of all conditions of life, the group found. By Sharon Zhang , TruthoutNovember 14, 2024
The human rights group found Israel guilty of three of five acts prohibited in the Genocide Convention, including killing members of the group, causing physical or mental harm to members of the group, and deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the group’s physical destruction.
Further, as Amnesty argues, the Genocide Convention specifies that in order for an assault to be classified as genocide, it must have an “intent to destroy” a group. The group says that, while Israel claims its attacks have only targeted Hamas, Amnesty found that “these claims are not credible,” as Israel has consistently ignored its obligations to avoid civilian harm and has thus committed indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks.
“The evidence presented in the report clearly shows that the destruction of Palestinians in Gaza, as such, was Israel’s intent, either in addition to, or as a means to achieve, its military aims,” the report says. “There is only one reasonable inference that can be drawn from the evidence presented: genocidal intent has been part and parcel of Israel’s conduct in Gaza since 7 October 2023, including its military campaign.”
The group calls on international powers to stop sending arms to Israel or else risk complicity in genocide, specifically calling out key arms suppliers like the U.S. and Germany.
“Month after month, Israel has treated Palestinians in Gaza as a subhuman group unworthy of human rights and dignity, demonstrating its intent to physically destroy them,” said Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard.
“Our damning findings must serve as a wake-up call to the international community: this is genocide. It must stop now. States that continue to transfer arms to Israel at this time must know they are violating their obligation to prevent genocide and are at risk of becoming complicit in genocide,” Callamard said.
Amnesty also called on the International Criminal Court to add genocide to the recently issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
“No one should be allowed to commit genocide and remain unpunished,” said Callamard.
“Genocidal intent has been part and parcel of Israel’s conduct in Gaza since 7 October 2023,” the report says.
By Sharon Zhang ,
December 5, 2024
Palestinians walk in a devastated neighborhood due to Israeli strikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Yunis on December 2, 2024.
Bashar Taleb / AFP via Getty Images
Honest, paywall-free news is rare. Please support our boldly independent journalism with a donation of any size.
One of the world’s most prominent human rights groups concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza in a bombshell report released Thursday.
In a 296-page investigation, Amnesty International found that the breadth of Israel’s military assault on Gaza — including mass civilian killings, forced displacement, the blocking of humanitarian aid, and many other alleged violations of the Genocide Convention — combined with Israeli officials’ clear intent to destroy Gaza means that their campaign amounts to genocide.
Amnesty is the first major international human rights organization to formally label Israel’s assault a genocide. Numerous UN agencies and groups have also found evidence that Israel is committing genocide.
The sprawling report details some of the most inhumane parts of Israel’s assault and invasion up until the end of November, highlighting the “unprecedented magnitude” of Israel’s military incursions and starvation campaign, as well as dozens of statements by Israeli officials and soldiers indicating their intent to wipe out Gaza.
The report cites numerous Israeli massacres investigated by Amnesty that targeted civilian structures in densely populated areas, including 15 attacks between October 2023 and April 2024 that killed 334 people, 141 of whom were children. It also points to statements by Israeli officials, like when President Isaac Herzog claimed that there were no Palestinian civilians who were “not involved” in the attack on October 7, 2023.
Related Stor
Honest, paywall-free news is rare. Please support our boldly independent journalism with a donation of any size.
One of the world’s most prominent human rights groups concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza in a bombshell report released Thursday.
In a 296-page investigation, Amnesty International found that the breadth of Israel’s military assault on Gaza — including mass civilian killings, forced displacement, the blocking of humanitarian aid, and many other alleged violations of the Genocide Convention — combined with Israeli officials’ clear intent to destroy Gaza means that their campaign amounts to genocide.
Amnesty is the first major international human rights organization to formally label Israel’s assault a genocide. Numerous UN agencies and groups have also found evidence that Israel is committing genocide.
The sprawling report details some of the most inhumane parts of Israel’s assault and invasion up until the end of November, highlighting the “unprecedented magnitude” of Israel’s military incursions and starvation campaign, as well as dozens of statements by Israeli officials and soldiers indicating their intent to wipe out Gaza.
The report cites numerous Israeli massacres investigated by Amnesty that targeted civilian structures in densely populated areas, including 15 attacks between October 2023 and April 2024 that killed 334 people, 141 of whom were children. It also points to statements by Israeli officials, like when President Isaac Herzog claimed that there were no Palestinian civilians who were “not involved” in the attack on October 7, 2023.
Related Stor
UN Report: Israel’s Tactics in Gaza Are “Consistent With Genocide”
Israel’s “unprecedented destruction” has deprived Palestinians of all conditions of life, the group found. By Sharon Zhang , TruthoutNovember 14, 2024
The human rights group found Israel guilty of three of five acts prohibited in the Genocide Convention, including killing members of the group, causing physical or mental harm to members of the group, and deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the group’s physical destruction.
Further, as Amnesty argues, the Genocide Convention specifies that in order for an assault to be classified as genocide, it must have an “intent to destroy” a group. The group says that, while Israel claims its attacks have only targeted Hamas, Amnesty found that “these claims are not credible,” as Israel has consistently ignored its obligations to avoid civilian harm and has thus committed indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks.
“The evidence presented in the report clearly shows that the destruction of Palestinians in Gaza, as such, was Israel’s intent, either in addition to, or as a means to achieve, its military aims,” the report says. “There is only one reasonable inference that can be drawn from the evidence presented: genocidal intent has been part and parcel of Israel’s conduct in Gaza since 7 October 2023, including its military campaign.”
The group calls on international powers to stop sending arms to Israel or else risk complicity in genocide, specifically calling out key arms suppliers like the U.S. and Germany.
“Month after month, Israel has treated Palestinians in Gaza as a subhuman group unworthy of human rights and dignity, demonstrating its intent to physically destroy them,” said Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard.
“Our damning findings must serve as a wake-up call to the international community: this is genocide. It must stop now. States that continue to transfer arms to Israel at this time must know they are violating their obligation to prevent genocide and are at risk of becoming complicit in genocide,” Callamard said.
Amnesty also called on the International Criminal Court to add genocide to the recently issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
“No one should be allowed to commit genocide and remain unpunished,” said Callamard.
Amnesty International report says Israel is committing genocide in Gaza
Amnesty International accused the state of Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza war in a report published on Thursday, an allegation Israeli leaders have repeatedly denied. The report says Israel has "unleashed hell and destruction on Palestinians in Gaza brazenly, continuously and with total impunity".
Issued on: 05/12/2024 -
By: NEWS WIRES
'Erasure'
In the days after the October 7 attack, Israel imposed a "total siege" on Gaza, with the slogan: "No electricity, no water, no gas". Limited supplies have been allowed in since then.
Palestinians have been subjected to "malnutrition, hunger and diseases" and exposed to a "slow, calculated death", Amnesty said.
The rights group, which is also due to publish a report on the crimes committed by Hamas, cited 15 air strikes in Gaza between October 7, 2023 and April 20, which killed 334 civilians, including 141 children, for which the group found "no evidence that any of these strikes were directed at a military objective".
The Amnesty report also referenced dozens of calls by Israeli officials and soldiers for the annihilation, destruction, burning or "erasure" of Gaza.
Such statements highlighted "not only systemic impunity but also the creation of an environment that emboldens...such behaviour."
"Governments must stop pretending that they are powerless to terminate Israel's occupation, to end apartheid and to stop the genocide in Gaza," said Callamard.
"States that transfer arms to Israel violate their obligations to prevent genocide under the convention and are at risk of becoming complicit," she added.
(AFP)
Amnesty International accused the state of Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza war in a report published on Thursday, an allegation Israeli leaders have repeatedly denied. The report says Israel has "unleashed hell and destruction on Palestinians in Gaza brazenly, continuously and with total impunity".
Issued on: 05/12/2024 -
By: NEWS WIRES
01:47
Mohammad Shouman carries the body of his daughter, Masa, who was killed in an Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, during her funeral in Rafah on January 17, 2024.
© Fatima Shbair, AP
Amnesty International on Thursday accused Israel of "committing genocide" against Palestinians in Gaza since the start of the war last year, saying its new report was a "wake-up call" for the international community.
The London-based rights organisation said its findings were based on "dehumanising and genocidal statements by Israeli government and military officials", satellite images documenting devastation, fieldwork and ground reports from Gazans.
"Month after month, Israel has treated Palestinians in Gaza as a subhuman group unworthy of human rights and dignity, demonstrating its intent to physically destroy them," Amnesty chief Agnes Callamard said in a statement.
"Our damning findings must serve as a wake-up call to the international community: this is genocide. It must stop now," she added.
The Palestinian group Hamas launched an unprecedented attack inside southern Israel on October 7, 2023, triggering a deadly Israeli military offensive on Gaza as Israeli officials vowed to crush the militant group.
A total of 1,208 people in southern Israel, mostly civilians, were killed during the Hamas attack, according to an AFP tally based on official data.
Since then at least 44,532 people have been killed in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, deemed reliable by the UN.
"There is absolutely no doubt that Israel has military objectives. But the existence of military objectives does not negate the possibility of a genocidal intent," Callamard told AFP at a press conference in The Hague.
She said the organisation had based its findings on the criteria set out in the UN Convention on the Prevention of Genocide.
Israel has repeatedly and forcefully denied allegations of genocide, accusing Hamas of using civilians as human shields.
But Amnesty's 300-page report points to "direct deliberate attacks on civilian and civilian infrastructures where there was no Hamas presence or any other military objectives, the use of heavy explosive weapons with a wide radius of destruction in densely populated residential areas," the blocking of aid deliveries, and the displacement of 90 percent of Gaza's 2.4 million people.
Amnesty International on Thursday accused Israel of "committing genocide" against Palestinians in Gaza since the start of the war last year, saying its new report was a "wake-up call" for the international community.
The London-based rights organisation said its findings were based on "dehumanising and genocidal statements by Israeli government and military officials", satellite images documenting devastation, fieldwork and ground reports from Gazans.
"Month after month, Israel has treated Palestinians in Gaza as a subhuman group unworthy of human rights and dignity, demonstrating its intent to physically destroy them," Amnesty chief Agnes Callamard said in a statement.
"Our damning findings must serve as a wake-up call to the international community: this is genocide. It must stop now," she added.
The Palestinian group Hamas launched an unprecedented attack inside southern Israel on October 7, 2023, triggering a deadly Israeli military offensive on Gaza as Israeli officials vowed to crush the militant group.
A total of 1,208 people in southern Israel, mostly civilians, were killed during the Hamas attack, according to an AFP tally based on official data.
Since then at least 44,532 people have been killed in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, deemed reliable by the UN.
"There is absolutely no doubt that Israel has military objectives. But the existence of military objectives does not negate the possibility of a genocidal intent," Callamard told AFP at a press conference in The Hague.
She said the organisation had based its findings on the criteria set out in the UN Convention on the Prevention of Genocide.
Israel has repeatedly and forcefully denied allegations of genocide, accusing Hamas of using civilians as human shields.
But Amnesty's 300-page report points to "direct deliberate attacks on civilian and civilian infrastructures where there was no Hamas presence or any other military objectives, the use of heavy explosive weapons with a wide radius of destruction in densely populated residential areas," the blocking of aid deliveries, and the displacement of 90 percent of Gaza's 2.4 million people.
'Erasure'
In the days after the October 7 attack, Israel imposed a "total siege" on Gaza, with the slogan: "No electricity, no water, no gas". Limited supplies have been allowed in since then.
Palestinians have been subjected to "malnutrition, hunger and diseases" and exposed to a "slow, calculated death", Amnesty said.
The rights group, which is also due to publish a report on the crimes committed by Hamas, cited 15 air strikes in Gaza between October 7, 2023 and April 20, which killed 334 civilians, including 141 children, for which the group found "no evidence that any of these strikes were directed at a military objective".
The Amnesty report also referenced dozens of calls by Israeli officials and soldiers for the annihilation, destruction, burning or "erasure" of Gaza.
Such statements highlighted "not only systemic impunity but also the creation of an environment that emboldens...such behaviour."
"Governments must stop pretending that they are powerless to terminate Israel's occupation, to end apartheid and to stop the genocide in Gaza," said Callamard.
"States that transfer arms to Israel violate their obligations to prevent genocide under the convention and are at risk of becoming complicit," she added.
(AFP)
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