In a first for Israeli NGOs, two major rights groups accuse Israel of 'genocide' in Gaza
"Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians."
B'Tselem's report cites statements from senior politicians to illustrate that Israel "is taking coordinated action to intentionally destroy Palestinian society in the Gaza Strip".
Physicians for Human Rights Israel's report documents what the group says is "the deliberate and systematic destruction of Gaza's healthcare system".
Israel rejects accusation A spokesman from the Israeli prime minister's office, David Mencer, denounced the allegation. "We have free speech here in Israel but we strongly reject the accusation," he said.
"Our defence forces target terrorists and never civilians. Hamas is responsible for the suffering in Gaza."
Israel's war in Gaza for the past 21 months began in response to an unprecedented attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas on October 7 2023 in which around 1,200 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage. The Israeli assault has left much of the Gaza Strip, home to more than two million Palestinians, in ruins, and has killed at least 59,921 people, most of them civilians, according to Gaza's health ministry.
More than 90 per cent of Gaza's population have been driven from their homes at least once since the start of the war, according to the UN, and UN agencies warn that residents face a growing threat of famine and malnutrition.
The Israeli government, backed by the United States, fiercely denies the charge and says it is fighting to defeat Hamas and to bring back Israeli hostages still held in Gaza. The 1948 Genocide Convention, adopted globally after the mass murder of Jews by the Nazis, defines genocide as "acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group".
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ABC News
31 minutes ago
- ABC News
What does it mean to recognise Palestinian statehood?
With the UK looking towards recognition of a Palestinian state and pressure on Anthony Albanese to do the same, a former British Consul to Jerusalem and trustee of the Britain Palestine Project explains what recognising a Palestinian state would mean.
SBS Australia
an hour ago
- SBS Australia
'A question of when, not if': What happens if Australia recognises a Palestinian state?
The recognition of a Palestinian state offers prospects of "a future recovery", experts say, as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese faces pressure to accelerate Australia's position. Hardening its resolve in recent days, the Albanese government has stated its intention to recognise Palestinian statehood but has laid out several preconditions, including the demilitarisation of Hamas, before committing. On Wednesday, several frontbenchers, including Anika Wells and Julian Hill, said it was "a question of when, not if". Ben Saul, United Nations special rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism, said growing calls are the result of two years of international law violations by Israel. "I think it indicates the growing impatience of the international community with Israel's failure to support the conditions necessary for a Palestinian state," he told SBS News. The Coalition argues recognition of a Palestinian state needs to come at the end of a peace process. "We're worried he's putting the cart before the horse. We need a peace agreement, we need to see the hostages released, we need to see Hamas dismantled. Hamas cannot be part of a Palestinian state," Opposition defence spokesperson Angus Taylor said. So what would recognition mean in practice, including for the people of Gaza? The significance of recognising a Palestinian state Professor Shahram Akbarzadeh, director of the Middle East Studies Forum at Deakin University, says Australia recognising a Palestinian state would send a strong message to the United States that the "global dynamic is changing". In April 2024, the United States vetoed a resolution that would have granted Palestine's bid to become a full member of the United Nations. He told SBS News that the US needs to "exert its leadership role and exert pressure on Israel to push along the two-state solution". Akbarzadeh argues that "international sympathy for Israel after October 7" has turned into "international sense of disbelief that any state could behave this way", resulting in the likes of the UK and France changing their policies. "To put a total population under military control, blockading a total population and depriving them of food, of medicine, of water. It is a sense of global disbelief." Israeli officials, including its embassy in Canberra, deny that starvation is occurring in the Gaza Strip, stating reports of the deaths of malnourished children are a "false campaign" from Hamas. Saul said Palestinian statehood is not entirely dependent on the United States as long as international law criteria is met, including a population, a territory and an effective independent government. On Wednesday, Australia joined 14 other nations and signed a joint statement committing to a pathway for Palestinian statehood. It includes the Palestinian Authority's calls for the disarmament of Hamas, release of all remaining hostages, and the undertaking of elections within a year. The vote represented a shift in position after abstaining on similar motions for two decades, and Labor ministers said it was an important step towards a two-state solution. What are the practical implications? Beyond symbolism, Saul said Palestinians are legally entitled to having their a state under international law, labelling recognition "a win-win" which would allow Australia "full-blown diplomatic relations with Palestine". "It also means Palestine gets certain rights under Australian domestic law as well, in terms of diplomatic and state immunities of Palestinian officials," Saul said. However, Shahram says practical consequences are "quite limited" until the UN Security Council allows Palestine to become a full member. These full member benefits include having its armed forces under the protection of a state, conducting diplomacy, establishing relations with other countries like trade ties and mounting legal claims against Israel in all international bodies under state sovereignty. "But legal sovereignty is managed and basically curtailed by the political power and military power of the United States and Israel, so that the reality of power overrides the legality of the future Palestinian state," he said. What is the impact on Palestinians in Gaza? Akbarzadeh said Palestinian statehood opens up "prospects for future recovery and reconstruction". "The impact on the daily life of Gazans is nothing because Gaza is still under military occupation and blockaded by Israel," he said. While the opening up of borders to allow food and medicine aids the starving population, Akbarzadeh argues, "you want to give them [Palestinians] hope". "You want to give Palestinians an avenue for self-expression and autonomy. So that's when statehood and sovereignty come in. The two are related, but recognising Palestinian sovereignty does not give Palestinians in Gaza food," he said. Saul agrees that statehood won't fix the "humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza", stating only Israel can offer a solution that includes allowing the flow of humanitarian aid. "Israel has to respect its obligations under humanitarian law. It has to respect human rights law," he said. He highlighted that countries supporting Israel, like the United States and Germany, have to respect their obligations too. Two-year-old Yazan Abu Foul with his mother Naima. Yazan suffers from severe malnutrition due to the acute shortage of food caused by the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip and the closure of border crossings. Source: EPA / Haitham Imad "Obligations under international law is not to transfer weapons or ammunition to a country that would use them to commit war crimes," Saul added. Where do other Western nations stand Overnight, the UK warned Israel it would follow France, and more than 140 United Nations members, to recognise Palestinian statehood, unless it takes immediate action to relieve suffering in Gaza. Germany said on Friday it was not planning to recognise Palestinian statehood in the short term; rather, its priority was to make "long-overdue progress" towards a two-state solution — Israel and a Palestinian state co-existing in peace. Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Saturday that recognising the State of Palestine before it is established could be counterproductive. Last year, Ireland, Norway and Spain recognised a Palestinian state with its borders to be demarcated as they were before the 1967 Middle East war, when Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. However, they also recognised that those borders may change in any eventual talks to reach a final settlement, and that their decisions did not diminish their belief in Israel's fundamental right to exist in peace and security.
ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
Anthony Albanese now has cover to follow Keir Starmer on Palestinian state
He may be hounded daily for not having yet secured a meeting with Donald Trump, but there's another leader the prime minister has no trouble reaching on speed dial. "I was in contact with Prime Minister Starmer overnight," Anthony Albanese revealed yesterday, unprompted, when asked about his British counterpart's move to recognise a Palestinian state. "I expect to be speaking with Keir in the coming couple of days as well". Albanese wants it known he is in close consultation with Starmer on this issue. There can be no doubt Albanese is growing increasingly alarmed at the situation in Gaza, exasperated at Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's denial that starvation is happening, and will be influenced by the British prime minister's move. At the same time, Albanese wants Australia to make its own decision. He does not want to be seen to move only because the French and British leaders have done so in recent days. Nor is he under anything like the domestic pressure Starmer has faced on this issue. More than 250 British MPs, including over half the British Labour caucus signed a letter calling for immediate Palestinian recognition. Here, the pressure within the Labor caucus has been building, but not nearly to that degree. Former minister Ed Husic remains the only Labor MP publicly calling for immediate recognition. "Moral momentum cannot be ignored" says Husic. "It's critical we back (France and the UK) in and build a sense of international momentum." Many others within Labor share the goal but aren't in such a rush. "It's a question of when and how, not if," said one cabinet minister from Labor's Left faction yesterday, speaking on the condition of anonymity. There's broad support within caucus for recognition, but "no clamour to move now". Another, from the Right, agreed and noted there's now "a sense of relief" across the party that the direction on recognition is clear. Albanese is operating something of a release valve for the caucus pressure by steadily building the case for what appears to be an inevitable step towards recognition. His criticism of Israel has gradually hardened, to the point where on Sunday he accused the Netanyahu government of breaching international law. This is combined with highlighting, where possible, hopes for reform on the Palestinian side, however tenuous these signs may be. Albanese yesterday pointed to a joint statement co-signed by 15 countries, including Australia, welcoming recent commitments from Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian Authority, made in a June 10 letter to French President Emanuel Macron. In the letter, Abbas condemned the October 7 attacks, called for remaining hostages to be freed, the dismantling of Hamas, elections to be held, and accepted "the principle of a demilitarised Palestinian State". All of this would be music to the ears of Australia and others. A dream outcome. Albanese called the Abbas commitments "a very significant step forward". The only problem is Abbas's authority to speak on behalf of Palestinians when it comes to the future of Gaza is far from clear. The Palestinian Authority has not governed Gaza since 2007. Abbas has clung to power for more than 20 years in the West Bank and cancelled his own elections in 2021. He is seen as deeply unpopular amongst Palestinians and viewed with suspicion. Still, the desire to promote Abbas' views, if not Abbas himself, is understandable for leaders who want an end to the war and progress towards a two-state solution. "Sometimes out of a crisis comes a moment of opportunity to actually advance forward in a real way," Albanese said yesterday. It's an optimistic view, to be sure. Within Israel, it's not just Netanyahu who has hardened his stance against a two-state solution since the October 7 attacks. A Pew Research Centre poll published last month showed only 21 per cent of Israelis believed a peaceful coexistence between Israel and a future Palestinian state was possible, a new low. The US also remains firmly opposed to recognising a Palestinian state. Trump expressed frustration with Israel over aid deliveries this week but still believes recognising a Palestinian state would amount to "rewarding Hamas". Trump disagreed with Starmer's move yesterday but was not overly critical. Australia now has some cover to follow the UK and France without fearing a backlash from the US. It might not help the relationship with Trump but wouldn't necessarily derail it. Albanese also has clear support within his caucus. The prime minister has repeatedly set down the conditions he wants met, including no role for Hamas in running Gaza, and assurances for Israel's security. It's now a question of how and when Albanese can be convinced that's going to happen. David Speers is national political lead and host of Insiders, which airs on ABC TV at 9am on Sunday or on iview.
