According to Navi Pillay, Chairwoman of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the daily onslaught in Gaza has largely overshadowed a parallel wave of violence in the occupied West Bank.
She noted that since the Gaza war began in October, more Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers there than in any other recorded period.
The violence, she said, is due to both Israel’s increasingly militarised operations and a “surge in settler violence” often ignored by Israeli forces.
This came as the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory released a report on war crimes in Gaza.
The report found Israeli military and Palestinian groups guilty of committing war crimes and rights abuses since October 7, 2024.
Speaking in Geneva, Navi Pillay, Chairwoman of the UN-backed commission, said that Israel “forcibly transferred almost the entire population into small enclosure that is unsafe and uninhabitable.”
She averred, “The deliberate use of heavy weapons with large destructive capacity in densely populated areas constitutes an intentional and direct attack on the civilian population.”
“Although Israeli officials have repeatedly stated their operations in Gaza are intended to destroy Hamas and release hostages, yet neither of these aims has been largely achieved at the expense of thousands of lives,” she said.
Also, Pillay stated that the commission concluded that specific forms of sexual and gender-based violence constitute part of the Israeli security forces’ operating procedures.
“We found that Israeli forces committed sexual and gender-based violence with the intent to humiliate and further subordinate the Palestinian community. Palestinian women were targeted and subjected to sexual violence and harassment online and in person.
“Men and boys experienced specific persecutory acts, including sexual and gender-based violence amounting to torture and inhuman and cruel treatment.”
Navi Pillay
Moreover, Pillay disclosed that Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups also committed extensive war crimes, including sexual violence, during the war.
She listed the crimes as intentionally directing attacks against civilians, murder or wilful killing, torture, sexual violence, inhuman or cruel treatment and taking hostages
The UN commission, she said, “identified patterns indicative of sexual violence and concluded that these were not isolated but perpetrated in similar ways in similar locations, primarily against Israeli women”.
However, she warned the “exploitation of sexual violence in conflict by all parties for political propaganda risks diverting attention from the experience and from the needs of the survivor, as well as fueling longstanding hostilities”.
Pillay reiterated UN’s call for a ceasefire and for the “complete cessation of hostilities”.
Human Rights Lawyer Finds UN Commission Report “Compelling“
Toby Cadman, a UK-based international human rights lawyer, opined that the UN commission of inquiry’s report documenting alleged war crimes in Gaza is “strong, compelling and very much expected.”
He said that the report is unlikely to have an immediate effect on the conduct of Israel, which has so far been unphased by such reports, but could be used as evidence in future legal proceedings and give pause to Israel’s donor countries.
“We have seen a shift in policies in Western capitals. This will be further evidence as to the intent and conduct of Israeli authorities. It will have to – and should – cause all capitals to consider the extent to which support is provided to Israel in the ongoing conflict.”
Toby Cadman
However, a mother of a 23-year-old woman being held captive by Hamas, said thatUN commission of inquiry “completely overlooked” reality.
Speaking at the UN session, she stressed, “The enforced disappearance of the hostages by Hamas constitutes cruel and inhuman treatment. Both to the hostages and to the family members, this reality was completely overlooked by the commission of inquiry.”
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