Photo: A firefighter works to extinguish a blaze in buildings in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood of Gaza City following intense Israeli airstrikes on Friday. Photo by Palestinian Civil Defense/UPI.
The International Association of Genocide Scholars on Sunday passed a resolution accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, which Israeli officials deny.
The IAGS resolution cites U.N. statistics that claim more than 59,000 adults and children have died in Gaza without citing how many are Hamas casualties and not civilian casualties.
“The government of Israel has engaged in systemic and widespread crimes against humanity, including indiscriminate and deliberate attacks against the civilians and civilian infrastructure of Gaza,” the IAGS resolution says.
“These crimes are estimated to have left many thousands of people buried under the rubble or otherwise inaccessible and most probably dead.”
War crimes and crimes against humanity
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The IAGS accuses the Israeli government of torture, arbitrary detention and sexual and reproductive violence, including “deliberate attacks on medical professionals, humanitarian aid workers and journalists.
It also says Israel deliberately has deprived Gazans of food, water, medicine and electrical services that are necessary for survival.
The IAGS resolution says Israel’s policies and actions in Gaza “constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity against Palestinians in Gaza.”
It calls on the Israeli government to immediately end all acts that “constitute genocide and war crimes.”
The IAGS also wants the International Criminal Court to surrender any individuals who are subject to arrest warrants, which would include Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The IAGS describes itself as a “global, interdisciplinary, non-partisan organization that seeks to further research and teaching about the nature, causes and consequences of genocide and advance policy studies on genocide prevention.”
Israeli government denies genocide accusation
(UPI)