A UN commission has found Israel’s war in Gaza ranks among history’s greatest crimes. The UK government must stop hiding behind legal fictions and recognise the reality
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United Nations commission of inquiry has now said what Israeli, Palestinian and international human rights organisations, as well as many genocide scholars, have already argued: that Israel’s war in Gaza amounts to genocide. The commission finds that mass killings, attacks on vital infrastructure, starvation, displacement and denial of medical care meet the legal definition of history’s gravest crime. It finds genocidal intent “the only reasonable inference” from both the statements of Israel’s leaders and the conduct of its forces in Gaza.
Against this, Israel’s repeated assertions that it is acting in lawful self-defence ring hollow in the face of overwhelming evidence and a deliberate pattern of destruction. The UN’s conclusion imposes moral clarity. It also demands political action, especially from those, including the UK and the US, who have for too long treated Israel as an exception to international norms.
Historically, the Guardian supported Jewish aspirations for a homeland, playing a significant role in the early Zionist movement – particularly as antisemitism rose in Europe. That history only adds weight to our present concern over where the country is going. Other states must reckon with the consequences of enabling a far-right government under Benjamin Netanyahu that has defied international law with impunity and pursued its aims with horrifying human cost.
