Is Israel committing genocide in Gaza? We asked 5 legal and genocide experts how to interpret the violence
- Written by Melanie O'Brien, Associate Professor in International Law, The University of Western Australia
In January 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued[1] a provisional ruling in a case brought by South Africa against Israel, alleging genocide in Gaza. The court found Palestinians have a “plausible[2]” right to protection from genocide in Gaza and that Israel must take all measures to prevent a genocide from occurring.
Since then, United Nations experts[3] and human rights groups[4] have concluded[5] that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. In recent weeks, others have done the same, including leading genocide scholars[6] and two Israeli human rights[7] groups[8].
While the ICJ case may take years to play out, we asked five Australian experts in international law and genocide studies what constitutes a genocide, what the legal standard is, and whether the evidence, in their view, shows one is occurring.
References
- ^ issued (www.icj-cij.org)
- ^ plausible (www.bbc.com)
- ^ United Nations experts (www.ohchr.org)
- ^ human rights groups (www.hrw.org)
- ^ concluded (www.amnesty.org)
- ^ genocide scholars (www.nytimes.com)
- ^ Israeli human rights (www.btselem.org)
- ^ groups (www.phr.org.il)
Authors: Melanie O'Brien, Associate Professor in International Law, The University of Western Australia
