The Amnesty Report on Israel's alleged Genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and the Westminster Hall debate

 

The Amnesty Report, 'You feel like you are subhuman': Israel's Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza, has not received the attention it deserves in the mainstrea, media so I am publish their introduction and a link to the full report here:

‘You Feel Like You Are Subhuman’: Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza

"Our damning findings must serve as a wake-up call to the international community: this is genocide. It must stop now." - Agnès Callamard

 

Amnesty International has found sufficient basis to conclude that Israeli authorities committed, and continue to commit prohibited acts under the Genocide Convention.

Amnesty’s report analyses the Israeli authorities’ policies and military actions in the occupied Gaza Strip (Gaza) in the context of the military offensive they launched in the wake of the attacks on Israel carried out by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups on 7 October 2023. It assesses them within the framework of genocide under international law, finding that there is sufficient evidence to conclude that Israel’s conduct amounts to genocide. 

 

The Genocide Convention was the first international treaty to explicitly define and criminalise genocide. It was unanimously adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948. The definition of genocide is provided for in Article II of the Genocide Convention, which reads: “…genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:

 

(a) Killing members of the group; 

(b) Causing serious bodily harm or mental harm to members of the group; 

(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; 

(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; 

(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.” 

 

Through our research findings and legal analysis, we have found sufficient basis to conclude that Israel committed, during the nine months under review, prohibited acts under Article II (a), (b) and (c) of the Genocide Convention. We interviewed 212 people, including Palestinian victims and witnesses, local authorities in Gaza, and healthcare workers, conducted fieldwork and analysed an extensive range of visual and digital evidence, including satellite imagery. It also analysed statements by senior Israeli government and military. 

 

KEY CALLS 

 

Israel must urgently end the commission of genocidal acts against Palestinians in Gaza; agree to and uphold a sustained ceasefire; reverse all policies and actions that have resulted in the rapid deterioration of conditions of life in Gaza; and ensure that the humanitarian needs of Palestinians in Gaza are urgently and duly met. 

 

The UK must take urgent and meaningful steps to pressure Israel into ending its genocidal acts against Palestinians in Gaza. As a first step, they must ensure that Israel agrees to a sustained ceasefire, and fully implements all provisional measures ordered by the ICJ since 26 January 2024. 

 

The UK must immediately suspend arms transfers to Israel and the provision of training and other military and security assistance and services.

 

The UK must act to ensure justice and accountability for any alleged crimes under international law, including war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, by exercising universal or other forms of extraterritorial criminal jurisdiction, pressuring Israel to allow entry into Gaza of members and staff of any international investigative or UN-mandated mechanism, and supporting the investigation of the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC into crimes allegedly committed in Israel and the OPT, including through executing any ICC arrest warrants.

 

The UK must oppose any attempts by Israel to establish a permanent Israeli military or civilian presence in Gaza, alter its borders and demographic makeup, or shrink its territory. Displaced Palestinians must be allowed to return to their homes and communities. 

 

The UK must urge the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC to urgently add the crime of genocide by Israeli officials since 7 October 2023 to its ongoing investigation into the situation in the State of Palestine. 

 

The UK must press the UN Security Council to impose a comprehensive arms embargo on all parties to the conflict, and targeted sanctions, such as asset freezes, against Israeli officials most implicated in crimes under international law, including those committed in the context of Israel’s ongoing offensive on Gaza.

THE FULL REPORT IS HERE

Unfortunately none of the Brent or Harrow MPs attended the recent Westminster Hall debate on citizens' petitions that called for the UK to recognise  the state of Palestine and for the end of UK arms  sales. This also received hardly any publicity.

I watched the debate (there is no vote) and was impressed by John McDonnell's moving ontribution:

John MacDonnell (Independent):

Every week of the last year, virtually, we have had a debate in this or the main Chamber: questions are asked and then we go home and watch on television the bodies of children being dug out of rubble—body parts, in some instances—with those white wrappings around their bodies. In every debate we seem to have got virtually nowhere because the arms are still being sold. We are still supplying essential parts for the F-35—the very vehicle that is dropping the bombs, firing the weapons and killing the children.

Carla Denyer (Green: 

Was the right hon. Member as shocked as I was to learn that, contrary to the notion that the UK’s trade in F-35 parts is untraceable, as we were told previously, not only is it traceable but the US Government are tracking it? The reason we do not have that information is that we have not even asked them.

John McDonnell

I will be careful with my language here, but one of the frustrations, in this debate as well, is getting the truth about what is happening and what is contributing to the murders that are taking place. Unless we can stop that and prevent the UK from participating, we will all be implicated. History will judge us all for not doing enough to stop it.

I am pleased that the petition has taken place and pleased about the numbers; I congratulate the people who organised it. The petition represents the sense of frustration felt out there and the real depth of anger.

I have been on virtually every national demonstration. They have been peaceful, but there is a level of frustration that I do not think we can contain any more. We are alienating whole sections of our own community. It is not about the Labour party or other political parties, but democracy itself. People say, “You’re an MP. You go to Parliament. Why aren’t you stopping this? It’s no good just shouting on demonstrations. Why isn’t democracy being exercised to stop this?”

I want to make just one point about the lack of action by the Government. Yes, petitions are taking place, but other people are taking direct action and have been imprisoned. Those cases will be sub judice, so I will not mention them individually. But Palestine Action took direct action to close down an arms factory that was supplying goods and materials for the F-35 and the drones. Those people were arrested under counter-terrorism powers and detained. They are young people, a lot of them young women—some of them just starting out at university. They exercised their influence and power because we failed to exercise ours. Some have been in court; when they are in front of a jury, they usually win the case. A number of them are now on remand and will have been in prison since last March until next November, when their trial is listed.

 Chair: Order. I remind the right hon. Member that the case is sub judice and we should not talk about it.

John McDonnell

I am careful about not mentioning any names. I am raising the issue of the process itself, which is the use of counter-terrorism powers against direct action groups. The last Government even came forward with proposals and discussions about proscribing Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation. I hope this Government are not going anywhere near that.

But why are the people in prison at the moment on remand? Why can they not be tagged before their trial comes up next November? A number of them, most probably, will be proven innocent, but they will have served nearly two years in prison—for what? For trying to do what we are failing to do: prevent this Government from supplying arms to a regime that kills children.

I say to the Government: it is now time to act. All arms licences need to be closed down. The Minister may say that it is a matter of defending Israel; if so, let us have a conversation with Israel itself about how to supervise that defence internationally, rather than using it as an excuse to kill children. I have had enough of coming back here every week—as you can tell, Mrs Harris. We need action from the Government now.

Mike Tapp (Labour, Dover and Deal) made a contribution that opposed both petition requests:

The petitions reflect the deep concern and passion of many in our society about the ongoing conflict and suffering in the middle east, and I respect the sentiment behind them. This Government are already working towards the same objectives that many of the signatories seek: an end to the violence in Gaza, the immediate release of all remaining hostages, an improved supply of humanitarian aid and, crucially, irreversible progress towards a lasting two-state solution. Peace in the middle east will come from negotiations, dialogue and the willingness of both sides to find common ground.

I turn first to the question of recognising the state of Palestine. Both the Israeli and Palestinian peoples have a legitimate right to self-determination. The foundation of a two-state solution is an independent, viable and democratic Palestine living alongside a safe and secure Israel. Since the Oslo accords, the principle has been clear: a two-state solution can be reached only through direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. An action that undermines that principle, such as unilateral recognition of Palestine by the UK, only complicates that matter and makes peace more difficult. It creates the false impression that a Palestinian state can be imposed from the outside, without the necessary negotiations. Unilateral recognition, as seen with countries such as Spain, Norway and Ireland, has led to no real progress on the ground. It is a symbolic gesture, but it does not advance the cause of peace.

We must also approach the matter of arms exports with a clear-eyed view of the facts. Revoking UK arms export licences would once again be a largely symbolic gesture, with little practical impact on the situation in Gaza. It would also undermine our credibility as a security partner in the region and send the wrong messages to adversaries, including Iran.

Andy McDonald (Labour, Middlesborough and Thornby East)

Presumably, my hon. Friend will recognise that 15% of the F-35 construction parts come from the United Kingdom, and they are the choice of delivery of the 2,000 lb bombs that obliterate civilian populations in Gaza. Does he share my concern that continuing to participate in that programme leaves the United Kingdom at risk of being prosecuted under various conventions for complicity in those heinous acts?

Mike Tapp

We must bear in mind that 95% of weapons come from the US and Germany, and on the legal side of things, the Prime Minister and the Government have been clear that they have consulted legal advice, which of course will continue—I expect that there will be more from the Minister on that.

That is not to say that we ignore the suffering or the rights of Palestinians—far from it—but revoking arms sales to Israel, particularly when the country is engaged in a seven-front conflict against Iran and its proxies, would undermine our national security interests in the middle east. The UK has a long-standing defence and security relationship with Israel, which played a key role in defending Israel against an unprecedented Iranian ballistic attack earlier this year.

We have real-world experience in peacebuilding through initiatives such as the International Fund for Ireland, which invested in cross-community projects in Northern Ireland long before the Good Friday agreement was signed. Over time, these projects help to change attitudes and foster the conditions for political leaders to negotiate and compromise. The UK can and must apply thos

lessons to the middle east. By supporting peacebuilding civil society organisations in both Israel and Palestine, we can build the foundations for lasting peace. That approach has already received backing from the G7, and was reinforced by the Prime Minister's recent announcement on supporting civil society peacebuilding.

I urge us all to focus on actions that have a tangible long-term impact. Unilateral recognition of Palestine or the withdrawal of arms exports to Israel may offer a moment of symbolic protest, but will not move us closer to a genuine and lasting peace. The real path to peace lies in dialogue, supporting peacebuilding initiatives and encouraging both Israelis and Palestinians to come to the table. The UK can play a meaningful role by investing in projects that build trust and create the conditions necessary for a sustainable two-state solution.

 

THE FULL HANSARD REPORT IS HERE (INCLUDING THE GOVERNMENT RESPONSE)