Vienna – Saba:
UN experts confirmed in a report on Tuesday that Israel committed a crime against humanity involving "genocide" by killing civilians who had taken refuge in schools and religious sites in the Gaza Strip as part of a "systematic campaign to erase Palestinian life."
The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Israel is scheduled to present its report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on June 17, according to Reuters.
"We are seeing mounting evidence that Israel is waging a systematic campaign to erase Palestinian life in Gaza," said Navi Pillay, the former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights who chairs the commission, in a statement.
It added, "Israel's targeting of the educational, cultural, and religious life of the Palestinian people will harm current and future generations."
The commission is examining the attacks on educational facilities and religious and cultural sites to assess whether they violated international law. Israel withdrew from the Human Rights Council last February, alleging bias.
The commission's latest report, released in March, concluded that Israel committed "acts of genocide" against Palestinians through the systematic destruction of women's healthcare facilities during the conflict in Gaza.
In its latest report, the commission stated that Israel destroyed more than 90 percent of school and university buildings and more than half of the religious and cultural sites in Gaza.
It added, "Israeli forces committed war crimes, including directing attacks against civilians and wilful killing in their attacks on educational facilities. By killing civilians who had sought refuge in schools and religious sites, Israeli security forces committed the crime against humanity of genocide."
The report concluded that the damage to the Palestinian education system was not limited to Gaza. It noted increased Israeli military operations in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, along with harassment of students and settler attacks there.
The report stated, "The Israeli authorities also targeted Israeli and Palestinian educational workers and students inside Israel who expressed concern for or solidarity with civilians in Gaza, resulting in harassment, dismissal, or suspension, and in some cases, humiliating arrests and detentions."
The committee added, "The Israeli authorities particularly target female teachers and students with the aim of deterring women and girls from activism in public spaces."
With American and European support, the Israeli enemy army has continued to commit crimes of genocide in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, resulting in the deaths of 54,981 Palestinian citizens, the majority of whom were children and women, and the injury of 126,920 others. This remains a preliminary toll, with thousands of victims still buried under the rubble and on the streets, unable to be reached by ambulance and rescue crews.
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