Human Rights Watch finds Israel guilty of extermination and ‘acts of genocide’ – Mondoweiss
Extermination and Acts of Genocide: Israel Deliberately Depriving Palestinians in Gaza of Water | HRW Today, Human Rights Watch issued a devastating report on Israel’s genocide in Gaza, titled: “Extermination and Acts of Genocide – Israel Deliberately Depriving Palestinians in Gaza of Water.” The report’s conclusion, coming on the heels of Amnesty’s genocide report of two weeks ago, unequivocally states that Israel has committed the crime of Extermination, and an “act of genocide”: “Human Rights Watch concludes that Israeli authorities have over the past year intentionally inflicted on the Palestinian population in Gaza “conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.” This policy, inflicted as part of a mass killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza means Israeli authorities have committed the crime against humanity of extermination, which is ongoing. This policy also amounts to an “act of genocide” under the Genocide Convention of 1948”. To be clear, the usage of the term “act of genocide” does not refer to a single act, but to a set of acts, namely “deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part”, as it is formulated in the Genocide Convention on 1948, Article II point 3. Compared to the Amnesty report, the HRW report is not very strong on the issue of intent, which the Amnesty report focused on, however, it is significant in its singular focus on one central issue: water. As we all know, water is a singularly crucial source of life, and its deprivation will kill in a host of ways. The report opens with a graphic depiction of the level of water deprivation that Gazans are subject to. It is useful to get this palpable sense of the reality in Gaza because we can all relate to it. An average person in the U.S. consumes over 310 liters (82 gallons) of water per day, this includes a variety of uses (a five-minute shower, for example, takes about 60 liters, or 16 gallons). In Israel, the average person uses about 250 liters per day. In Gaza, the available water per person today is between 2 and 9 liters. HRW notes that “in protracted emergency situations, the minimum amount of water required is 15 liters of water per person per day for drinking and washing.” This level of water means that people can use it almost solely for drinking, when that is even possible: “When we cannot get drinking water, taking a shower is a dream,” said a 36-year-old woman who was displaced to Khan Younis. And when they can’t access potable water, they literally drink the sea: “If we can’t find drinkable water, we drink the sea water,” one father displaced to a school in Rafah told Human Rights Watch in December 2023. “It happened to me many times when I had to drink the sea water. You don’t understand how much we are suffering.” And then there are the mothers who cannot nurse their newborns because of their own dehydration, resorting to feeding them baby-formula mixed with poisonous, contaminated water. Almost all the water is unfit for drinking, and clean water is a luxury only few can afford, as 14-year old Ghazal testifies: “We all now drink toxic, contaminated, and undrinkable water. [My] stomach pains haven’t stopped… We don’t have enough money to buy bottled water. We can’t afford it.” This affects the very young in particular: “Several doctors and nurses described seeing large numbers of infants suffering from malnutrition, dehydration, and infection within their first few months of life, in some cases leading to death. Asma Taha, a pediatric nurse practitioner who volunteered in Gaza in May 2024, said that she saw one to three babies die “every day” from a combination of these causes”. And this is all under-reported: “The decimation of the healthcare system, including disease tracking, has meant that confirmed cases of disease, as well as illnesses and deaths suspected to be linked to water-borne disease, dehydration, and starvation are not being systematically tracked or reported. Taha stated that she believed many deaths at the clinic where she was volunteering went unregistered with Gaza’s Ministry of Health. ‘We had many babies brought in dead, malnourished. I don’t know if anyone registered them… [The doctors] have no time, they were overworked. They worked 24 hour shifts, 36 hour shifts.’ She added that ‘[a]t some point we didn’t even have papers to write on.’” Deliberate destruction This catastrophe is not the result of a natural disaster. Nor is it the mere unintended consequence of war – it is part of a deliberate strategy: “Human Rights Watch research found that since the start of hostilities, Israeli forces deliberately attacked and damaged or destroyed several major WASH facilities, including four of the Gaza Strip’s six wastewater treatment plants and an important water reservoir supplying water to people in Rafah in southern Gaza. In several cases, Human Rights Watch found evidence that Israeli ground forces were in control of the areas at the times they destroyed WASH infrastructure, including evidence such as a video of troops methodically laying and wiring up explosives inside a water reservoir, and satellite imagery showing bulldozer tracks on razed large solar-panel arrays which power wastewater plants. This evidence indicates that the destruction was not incidental to attacks on military objects, but rather, deliberate.” Israel has also attacked those who sought to repair the damage, as well as the tools to repair it with: “Israeli forces have also attacked and killed water workers while they were carrying out repairs and other activities to bring the population more water, and have destroyed materials needed for water repairs. In January 2024, Israeli forces also attacked the Gaza’s water authority’s—the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility (CMWU)—main warehouse, where many employees and their families were sheltering, and subsequently set fire to the US$8 million of WASH equipment being stored there, virtually destroying the CMWU’s ability to repair damaged infrastructure. They have also attacked water workers who were attempting to make repairs or conducting other water-related work. Following a process known as deconfliction meant to enable the safe passage of humanitarian workers in conflicts, the water workers’ coordinates had been shared with the Israeli military ahead of being sent out to make the repairs.” These acts follow the many calls from Israeli officials to deprive Gazans of basic necessities: “In the days after the Hamas-led attacks by Palestinian armed groups in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, senior Israeli officials, including former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and former Energy Minister and current Defense Minister Israel Katz made public statements expressing the government’s aim to deprive civilians in Gaza of water.” And although there was some resumption after a few weeks, it was under severe limitations: “While Israeli authorities resumed piping some water into Gaza from Israel at the end of October 2023, as of September 2024, they have continued to restrict the amount of water entering through the pipelines. The water from the pipelines has been insufficient to offset the decrease in water production caused by Israeli authorities’ cutting off of electricity supply and blocking and restricting of fuel imports, and by the damage or destruction of water infrastructure.” This is all part of a general policy of denying sufficient humanitarian aid. HRW presents the pattern that is also evident in the amount of trucks entering Gaza: “Before October 7, 2023, about 500 trucks per working day entered Gaza with commercial and humanitarian goods. From October 21, 2023, to May 5, 2024, when Israel seized and closed the Rafah border crossing, only an average of 132 trucks per day entered; from May 5 to August 3, only an average of 33 trucks per day entered.” We must remember that Gaza was under siege for 16 years at the outset of October 7, 2023. That level, around 10 percent of the earlier “normal” level, is part of an accumulating pattern of deprivation. HRW mentions the orders set forth by the International Court of Justice in its provisional measures of January 26, under the Genocide case submitted by South Africa: “On January 26, 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued provisional measures that included requiring Israel to prevent genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, enable the provision of basic services and humanitarian assistance, and prevent and punish incitement to commit genocide…. Since then, the ICJ has issued two further provisional measures, reaffirming its prior orders, and stated in May that the orders should be ‘immediately and effectively implemented.” But Israel did not comply: “Since that time, Israel has violated the ICJ’s measures, including preventing ‘the deprivation of access to adequate food and water.’” Accountability While HRW points to Israel in its Key Recommendations (“comply with the provisional measures ordered by the ICJ,” “cease its unlawful destruction of water infrastructure across Gaza”, “immediately lift its blockade of Gaza” etc.), it is clear that none of this will happen without immense external pressure from third countries. Thus: “States and international institutions, and especially those with leverage on the Israeli government such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and European Union states, should take urgent action to prevent genocide and further atrocities. This includes measures like targeted sanctions, suspension of arms transfers and military assistance, and review of bilateral trade and political agreements, to put concrete pressure on the Israeli government to comply with the ICJ’s provisional measures and its other obligations under IHL and human rights law.” It may be hard to see such “urgent action,” especially from the U.S., at this point. Biden’s “ultimatum” from October, threatening a stop to weapon transfers if aid is not increased, was a pathetic bluff. One could hardly expect more from Trump. And yet, there is a growing international consensus on the matter of Israel’s genocide. The term is no longer a taboo in the legal discourse, and one may hope that this way leads to some form of justice for Palestinians. Because once again, it is way too late. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. 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