Israel committing genocide in Gaza, world’s top scholars on the crime say

[Everexpanding]

An overwhelming majority of members of the world’s leading genocide scholars’ association have backed a resolution stating that Israel’s actions in Gaza meet the legal definition of the crime.
Eighty-six per cent of those who voted in the 500-member International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) supported the motion. The resolution states that “Israel’s policies and actions in Gaza meet the legal definition of genocide in article II of the United Nations convention for the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide (1948).”

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/01/israel-committing-genocide-in-gaza-worlds-top-scholars-on-the-say

Maybe if they changed their behaviour towards Gaza and WB, for example, they could reduce the threat rather than add to it. Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is the opposite of clever.

So Israel is responsible for everything and Hamas is of no account.

What an unsurprising response.

What, by just letting them kill Israelis and thanking them for it?

Israel hasn’t even tried that yet?

No, they are accountable for the atrocities they commit, hence why some of them will be killed in the conflict in Gaza (I say some because, as I said, it’s a global network that cannot be destroyed in a ground war in one area). They should be removed as the governing power in Gaza - that is them being held accountable. That is them being shown that their way isn’t an option.

But in what world is it shocking that radical islamists aren’t going to do the right thing? I find it incredibly surprising that people expect some decency/humanity/diplomacy from the people who planned and executed things like 9/11 or 7/10. The aim is to kill and die for the cause. I don’t think anyone has protested against AQ or ISIS after a terrorist attack: it’s pretty much a given that people in the west don’t support radical Islamic terrorism. There were plenty of anti- war on terrorism marches though.

Israel (apart from some members of the government and anyone involved in settler violence) aren’t extremists so should be held to a higher standard than Hamas. I wouldn’t put the US and AQ on the same moral footing or ISIS and the UK. We are different to them, hence why we are liberal democracies and they are terrorist orgs. So yes, Israel are responsible for their role in all of this. Hamas are too, hence why they are being removed from Gaza. Both sides can be held accountable for their actions, held responsible for their wrongdoings and criticised for their actions. Being up against terrorists doesn’t give you a green light to act like them. And no, this isn’t just my view now Israel is involved. I had the same issue when the US tortured suspects in prisons. Western democracies either have to admit we’re no better than our enemies when we want to do those things or uphold people’s rights no matter who the enemy is.

Nope, that’s obviously a stupid approach isn’t it.

It is interesting that some people seem to think Israel’s options are do nothing or try ethnic cleansing. Perhaps we could try a middle ground?

As everyone knows extremist ideologies attract people in desperate times, a thriving happy population is not attracted to extremist ideologies. The majority of people want to live decent lives and raise their kids in safety, Israel has not allowed Palestinians to do this for decades, @CaramelPecan I do not think Hamas’s actions on October 7th were just, I don’t believe in violence but I do think for any resolution Israel has to admit to itself that it has treated generations of Palestinians appallingly. This can change

I dont think anyone here has proposed or endorsed ethnic cleansing.

Well that appears to be where the current Israeli government are headed

No, but powerful members of the Israeli government have so it’s a valid concern. And their actions to date match those statements so those who are ‘pro-Israel’ right now have to reconcile with the fact that they could be supporting the goals of the far right elements of the Israeli government.

@CaramelPecan
Of course you are more knowledgeable than the IPC. That much was predictable.

Yes but it’s been called things like ‘informing citizens of where to go’ under the guise of being the most moral army in the world.

And it looks like X (the home of misinformation) is the reliable source we should be trusting over the NGOs and medics reporting starvation. At least now we know where we’re going wrong!

Is there anything in the links I provided that you want to rebut as false?

I used to believe everything I read in the media and also accepted what influential humanitarian/government/non government /international organisations stated as facts, until I started researching this particular conflict a bit more thoroughly.

I didn’t know much about it other than vaguely remembering news reports about rockets being fired and Israel retaliating as it wasn’t an interest and was in a far away country.

The reactions to Oct 7th and the Free Palestine marches almost immediately afterwards, having seeing some of the ‘resistance’ efforts (the picture of Shani Louk in particular) and the celebration of Palestinians on their own videos, caught my interest though.

I agree that there is lots of misinformation on X.

There’s also a lot of information not reported in the MSM.

I must admit I’ve read some stuff on there that I thought couldn’t be true but on looking it up through other sources, I found it was.

The Ramallah lynching was one. The PA’s pay for slay program was another.

I think you should investigate ‘Honest Reporting’ and decide for yourself if they are the right place to locate the truth (or something as close to the truth as possible). Likewise with commentators on X. You appear to have switched sources and be believing what ever they say instead. Apologies if that isn’t a fair conclusion but you do seem to have replaced a lot of reputable sources with biased sources and ones that are more likely to spread misinformation in your quest for the truth.

You say the shocking reactions to 7/10 and the unbelievable celebrations caught your attention. Did they make you wonder why people would be so full of hatred and anger? If you’re going to research this conflict, it’s pretty important to try to understand why such extreme views could take hold in an area and what the context is for so much anger and resentment in Gaza. Hamas is a vehicle for that anger and they massively exploit angry people but it doesn’t explain why there are so many angry people in a relatively small area.

Both those examples are shocking and lead me back to my previous questions. What on earth is happening to Palestinians in the West Bank that makes them so angry and violent? Palestinians are just people, like us, so what is happening for such a concentration of hatred towards Israel. As I said, Hamas is a vehicle for this anger and gives people a ‘cause’ (a disgusting one) but why so many angry people willing to kill? Because happy people don’t become terrorists. What has happened to them in their lives or what generational trauma do they have which leads to these acts? I would start off by looking into settler violence in the case of the West Bank.

Let me explain percentages to you - because you either don't understand them, or are being, well let's say, economical with the truth.
The truth is that the Association of Genocide Scholars had a resolution vote in which 86% voted that genocide was happening in Gaza... that must be a heck of a lot of people. Well no, there are only 500 scholars, of which 86% would number 430 people.
Problem - it was 86% of the members who voted.

And how many members voted? 24% apparently.
So 86% of 24% of 500 people is what? 107 approx.
So actually 21.4%.

@RosaMundi27 thank you I do indeed understand percentages but apologies The original article did not list the number who voted
I would ask you to ask yourself the question why the other members did not vote against? Is it that arguing that a genocide is not taking place is untenable?
also academics are dependent on grants to fund their research, who would be the main sources of funding for genocide studies?
what about the chilling situation in American universities at the present, could this have influenced others to remain silent?

I’d start with education!

Classic use of strawmanning to avoid actually answering the points made.

This is a really well thought out analysis which encapsulates my thoughts exactly.

https://x.com/KonstantinKisin/status/1843352287525384452

Yes - education is also important for both Israeli and Palestinian children if there’s any chance of peace. Both are vulnerable to extremism and there are numerous videos we could both share of children on both sides who are repeating the hatred that adults have told them. So why are the adults so angry? Children don’t come up with this stuff themselves.

I'd mention at this point the Arab revolt of 1936 - 39. I dont think its fair to suggest Palestinian hatred towards Jews / Israel is as a result of anything recent. Its been there for a very, very long time.

I do understand people worry that current situation increases hatred between the 2 parties- but I think its important to accept its not a recent thing.

Well, the whole story about why most of the membership didn't vote is in the public domain, you could find it in 3 minutes, which is how long it took me. The backstory also explains why members were not allowed to debate it, and some never received notification that a vote would be taking place... makes you think, doesn't it?

A totally fair point but, again, I’d ask why that revolt began: what were the Palestinian angry about at that time? There’s always context and it needs to be analysed. We can’t just stop at ‘Palestinians hate Israeli/s/jewish people like this set in stone. Or insist it’s all just terrorism and antisemitism and Israel have played no role in it all. Happy people don’t get radicalised so why could vehicles for hatred like Hamas gain traction in Gaza? Thinking about this and discussing it doesn’t mean we condone violence or that we excuse horrendous acts against humans but it might help explain it and that is how we begin to stop the cycle of radicalism.