A senior board member of the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS), Emily Sample, affirmed that the Israeli occupation state is committing atrocities that fall under all five definitions of genocide.
In a series of media statements, Sample explained:
“What the authors of this resolution found is that Israel has committed atrocities consistent with all five types of the definition of genocide. The genocide threshold is not just one of those—it covers them all.”
Resolution Declaring Israel’s Crimes as Genocide
On Sunday, the International Association of Genocide Scholars passed a resolution confirming that Israel’s policies and actions in Gaza meet the legal definition of genocide under Article II of the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948).
Israel’s Foreign Ministry quickly condemned the resolution, calling it “an embarrassment to the legal profession and any academic standard,” and claiming it was “based on Hamas.”
Sample, however, clarified that the association strictly applies the 1948 Genocide Convention, which defines the crime as any of five acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.
She emphasised that while wars may involve “collateral damage,” the key distinction lies in intent:
“The real difference in understanding genocide is the intent behind destroying a group. That is what many of our scholars point to.”
Sample stressed that Israel’s conduct “goes far beyond what can occur under the laws of war or even claims of self-defence.” She added that the association hopes its resolution will help build international pressure to end the war on Gaza.
A Call for International Accountability
Sample further stated:
“What we hope is that this resolution can provide the evidence and pressure for decision-makers, and for civil society working directly with them, to continue pressing Israel towards a ceasefire, while strengthening the evidentiary base for hearings before the International Court of Justice or the International Criminal Court, which we hope will deliver justice for the people of Gaza.”
Humanitarian Catastrophe in Gaza
Gaza remains under devastating bombardment, with catastrophic humanitarian conditions worsening under Israel’s suffocating blockade. Palestinians accuse the occupation of genocide, while the international community continues to demonstrate dangerous silence in the face of ongoing crimes.
Backed by the United States, the Israeli army has been carrying out genocide in Gaza since 7 October 2023, committing mass killing, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement — in defiance of all international appeals and despite binding orders from the International Court of Justice to halt such acts.
The toll of Israel’s genocide so far includes:
- 63,557 Palestinians martyred
- 160,660 injured, the majority women and children
- Over 9,000 missing
- Hundreds of thousands displaced
- A famine killing 348 Palestinians, including 127 children
