Geneva: A United Nations investigation into the Gaza Strip has determined that the Israeli occupation forces have engaged in acts of "genocide" through the systematic dismantling of reproductive healthcare facilities. The UN Commission of Inquiry, adhering to the UN Genocide Convention, concluded that the actions of the Israeli occupation authorities have partially undermined the reproductive capacity of Palestinians in Gaza as a collective, constituting two forms of genocidal acts.
The inquiry identified that the occupation was involved in two of the five acts classified as genocide by the UN Convention, highlighting that the Israeli authorities were intentionally creating living conditions for the Palestinian population that were designed to lead to their physical destruction, while also implementing measures to hinder births within the group.
In a statement, Commission Chair Navi Pillay remarked: "These violations have inflicted not only immediate and severe physical and psychological harm on women and girls but also irreversible long-term consequences for the mental health and reproductive and fertility prospects of Palestinians as a whole." The UN genocide convention characterizes this crime as actions taken with the intent to destroy, either wholly or partially, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.
The three-member Independent International Commission of Inquiry was established by the UN Human Rights Council in May 2021 to examine alleged violations of international law in Israel and the Palestinian territories.
