UN panel accuses Israel of genocide as assembly debates ceasefire call

The panel discussion is concurrent with a debate by the UN General Assembly on the issue of demanding an immediate ceasefire.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

On Tuesday, the United Nations in New York held a panel on whether Israel is committing genocide in Gaza to coincide with a UN General Assembly debate demanding an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.

The panel was entitled, “2023 War on Gaza: The Responsibility to Prevent Genocide” and was organized by The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP).

Speaking on the panel are Dr. Raz Segal, Associate Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies and Endowed Professor in the Study of Modern Genocide at Stockton University; Ms. Hannah Bruinsma, Legal Advisor at Law for Palestine; Mr. Jehad Abusalim, Executive Director of The Jerusalem Fund; and Ms. Katherine Gallagher, Senior Staff Attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights.

The CEIRPP described the event: “The panel discussion will examine the legal implications of Israel’s military offensive against the Gaza Strip since 7 October and shed light on the applicability of key legal frameworks including those that define genocide.”

The panel discussion is concurrent with a debate by the UN General Assembly on the issue of demanding an immediate ceasefire.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned of a humanitarian catastrophe and has emphasized the civilian death toll of over 17,000 reported by Hamas’ Health Ministry, even though this number hasn’t been independently verified.

Last week, the United States vetoed a vote that would demand Israel stop its military campaign in Gaza.

None of the iterations of the UN’s ceasefire calls have condemned Hamas for its many atrocities against Israelis on October 7th, including the murder of 1,200, the abduction of 250, and the countless proven cases of rape, mutilation, and torture.

The UNGA’s ceasefire demands haven’t addressed the statements by Hamas’ leaders that they intend to repeat massacres against Israelis similar to those on October 7th.

In the criticism of the reported high casualties in Gaza, the UNGA hasn’t mentioned that many of these deaths could have been the direct result of placing Hamas missile launchers in civilian areas and positioning terrorist headquarters and terror tunnels with explosives underneath schools, hospitals, and mosques.