Fatah Spokesperson to TML: October 7 ‘Just a Date,’ Reiterates Genocide Claim
Amnesty accuses Israel of genocide in Gaza, citing intent to destroy Palestinians. Israel denies the claims, calling them baseless and part of an anti-Israel campaign. The report fuels global debate over the war's actions and intent
Amnesty International released a report on Thursday accusing Israel of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip during its war against Hamas in the past year.
“Israel has unleashed hell and destruction on Palestinians in Gaza brazenly, continuously, and with total impunity,” the organization said.
“Israel carried out acts prohibited under the Genocide Convention, with the specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza. These acts include killings, causing serious bodily or mental harm and deliberately inflicting on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction,” said Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International, later calling on the international community to stop Israel.
Israel began its war on Hamas after the terrorist organization conducted a surprise offensive on the Jewish state, killing approximately 1,200 Israelis and injuring thousands of others. Two hundred fifty people were taken hostage on that day, and 100 of them remain in captivity, with Hamas holding the bodies of at least 30 of the hostages who have been pronounced dead by Israeli authorities. Communities were burnt, and bodies were mutilated in an attack that caused the largest number of deaths in one single day in Israel’s history.
In response to the attack, Israel launched a massive offensive in Gaza to topple the organization and release the hostages. Figures released by the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, over 43,300 Palestinians have been killed since and over 100,000 wounded. United Nations (UN) figures show almost two million residents of Gaza have been internally displaced, and the Israeli military has leveled entire neighborhoods. UN figures rely largely on Gazan figures, which have not been independently confirmed and do not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israel claims a large faction of the dead are Hamas terrorists.
According to Amnesty International, Hamas’ attack on October 7, 2023, “can never justify Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.”
The 7 of October was not the beginning of everything. The 7 of October means nothing except for being just a date that was used to intensify the ongoing genocide.
“The 7 of October was not the beginning of everything,” said Dimitri Diliani, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Fatah’s Reformist Democratic Faction. “The 7 of October means nothing except for being just a date that was used to intensify the ongoing genocide.”
This report only confirms what we have been saying all along and proves beyond a reasonable doubt the intent and committing of genocide by the state of Israel.
“This report only confirms what we have been saying all along and proves beyond a reasonable doubt the intent and committing of genocide by the state of Israel,” Diliani added.
Israel, which is also facing accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), denies the claims and condemns the latest report by Amnesty International. Israel’s foreign ministry called the organization “fanatical and deplorable” in a statement released on Thursday.
“The genocidal massacre … was carried out by the Hamas terrorist organization,” the statement continued. “Israel is defending itself against these attacks acting fully in accordance with international law.”
International law defines genocide as acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. The term “genocide” was coined in 1944 to describe Nazi Germany’s policies in occupied Europe during the Second World War and, in particular, the Holocaust, the Nazi’s deliberate killing of some 6 million Jews, two-thirds of European Jewry. Several other instances of mass killings in recent history have been deemed genocides, including in Rwanda in 1994 and East Timor from 1974 to 1999.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) also denied the claims, responding to a request from The Media Line.
The claims presented in this report are entirely baseless and fail to account for the operational realities faced by the IDF. The IDF takes all feasible measures to mitigate harm to civilians during operations. These include providing advance warnings to civilians in combat zones whenever feasible and facilitating safe movement to designated areas.
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“The claims presented in this report are entirely baseless and fail to account for the operational realities faced by the IDF,” the statement read. “The IDF takes all feasible measures to mitigate harm to civilians during operations. These include providing advance warnings to civilians in combat zones whenever feasible and facilitating safe movement to designated areas. The report’s allegations of genocide and intentional harm are not only unfounded but also ignore Hamas’ violations of international law, including its use of civilians as human shields and its deliberate targeting of Israeli civilians. The IDF remains committed to conducting its operations in accordance with international law.”
The local branch of Amnesty International in Israel also dismissed the report, saying it “does not accept the assertion that genocide has been proven to be taking place in the Gaza Strip” and that “while the scale of killing and destruction carried out by Israel in Gaza … has reached catastrophic proportions and must cease immediately, our careful analysis does not find that the findings meet the definition of genocide.”
Israel’s war against Hamas has been aggressive, taking a heavy toll on civilians. While Israel denies claims of an alarming humanitarian crisis and allegations of famine, international organizations insist the humanitarian situation in Gaza is dire, saying the risk of malnutrition and disease is imminent. The rehabilitation of Gaza will be a costly endeavor, estimated at billions of US dollars.
In its effort to establish Israel’s intent, the Amnesty report reviewed over 100 statements made by Israeli government officials, military officers, and members of parliament. It also analyzed videos and photographs posted by Israeli soldiers on social media, some calling for the destruction of Gaza. Israeli soldiers have posted thousands of images and videos of their actions in Gaza, many of them calling for revenge against Hamas’ October 7 attack and vowing more devastation.
The primary element in determining genocide is intent. It is important to look at who made the statements, and if they influence policy that was being implemented, looking at what happened since the statements were made.
“The primary element in determining genocide is intent,” Anne Herzberg, legal adviser of NGO Monitor, a Jerusalem-based research institute, told The Media Line. “It is important to look at who made the statements, and if they influence policy that was being implemented, looking at what happened since the statements were made.”
Such statements have been central to the South African case against Israel in the ICJ. Days after Hamas’ attack, the then-defense minister said Israel was fighting “human animals,” and several Israeli politicians have said there are no innocent civilians in the Gaza Strip, attaching Hamas affiliation to all residents of the territory. An Israeli minister called for the use of nuclear weapons against Gaza at the beginning of the war.
There is a difference between statements that lead to policy changes and action than bellicose and admittingly stupid statements that had no influence over the actual policy. There has been no evidence of an actual policy of genocide being carried out. What happened on October 7, when terrorists went around looking for Jews to kill—that is what genocide is. Genocide is not the unfortunate killing of civilians in a war where the combatants are hiding amongst the civilians.
“There is a difference between statements that lead to policy changes and action than bellicose and admittingly stupid statements that had no influence over the actual policy,” Herzberg added. “There has been no evidence of an actual policy of genocide being carried out.”
“What happened on October 7, when terrorists went around looking for Jews to kill—that is what genocide is,” said Herzberg. “Genocide is not the unfortunate killing of civilians in a war where the combatants are hiding amongst the civilians.”
In its report, Amnesty asserted the original definition of intent “is overly cramped … and would effectively preclude a finding of genocide in the context of armed conflict.”
Israel has been under intense international pressure to curb its military operations in Gaza throughout most of the war. In addition to accusations of war crimes and genocide, it is under arms embargos imposed by several countries, including some of its main allies.
While Israeli officials condemned the report, there was no concern that it would further exacerbate Israel’s already difficult position.
The report is a prime example of the international campaign which shares the same goal as Hamas—the elimination of the state of Israel. Most countries … who understand the threat of radical terror will reject Amnesty’s absurd accusations. However, the report may give Hamas further hope that it will be able to hold out and survive … increasing civilian suffering and decreasing the chances of a hostage deal.
“The report is a prime example of the international campaign which shares the same goal as Hamas—the elimination of the state of Israel,” Gilad Erdan, from the Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy and Israel’s former ambassador to the US and the UN, told The Media Line. “Most countries … who understand the threat of radical terror will reject Amnesty’s absurd accusations. However, the report may give Hamas further hope that it will be able to hold out and survive … increasing civilian suffering and decreasing the chances of a hostage deal.”
Amnesty released its report on the same week that a former senior military general and defense minister said Israel was conducting ethnic cleansing in the northern Gaza Strip. The claim, which Moshe Ya’alon refused to backtrack on, was slammed by Israeli politicians from all sides of the political map.
“Israel is fighting a very complicated war against an enemy that uses civilians as human shields,” said Ambassador Avi Pazner, a former senior Israeli diplomat. “Amnesty is continuing years of anti-Israeli tradition in issuing this hostile report that falsely accuses Israel.”
According to Pazner, there will be no major repercussions.
“It could lead to condemnations, but there will be no practical actions against Israel,” he told The Media Line. “For that, the UN Security Council is needed, and there, Israel has the benefit of American veto power.”
For the Palestinians, who, in recent years, have undertaken a legal battle against Israel in several international institutions, the report could be used to promote their goals further.
We would like to see Israel kicked out of the UN and its institutions, in addition to the suspension of all weapons supplies and economic sanctions. We want Israel totally isolated.
“We would like to see Israel kicked out of the UN and its institutions, in addition to the suspension of all weapons supplies and economic sanctions,” said Diliani. “We want Israel totally isolated.”
