U.N. Inquiry Panel Issues New Report Accusing Israel of War Crimes and Genocide

The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory released a 19-page report on Monday. The document accuses Israel of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. It specifically cites extermination, persecution, torture, rape, and other forms of sexual violence. The panel further claims Israel is intentionally targeting Palestinian civilians while continuing its genocide.

The report also finds that Israel is guilty of crimes in Judea and Samaria. It states that the Palestinian Authority has targeted Palestinians who voice dissenting views. According to the findings, journalists and human rights defenders have been killed and injured. The panel describes the result as an increasingly diminished civic space.

Hamas is mentioned twice in the 19-page document. Neither reference faults the group for leading the Oct. 7 attacks. The U.S. designates Hamas as a terror group. The report does not assign primary responsibility for the conflict's origin to the group in these specific passages.

The commission’s work has faced scrutiny this month. One panelist revealed that the group accused Israel of genocide without independently verifying facts. That panelist noted clear evidence that commissioners drew conclusions based on assumptions. This internal disclosure adds weight to the external criticism of the panel's methodology.

Daniel Meron, the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, addressed the release on Monday. He stated that the report reflects the institutional bias of the mechanism. Meron said the document fundamentally distorts history. He noted it recasts Israel’s defensive war for survival following the invasion by five Arab armies in May 1948 as a colonial expulsion policy.

Meron said the attempt to destroy the Jewish state did not end in 1948. He claimed it continues today through efforts by actors such the U.N. Commission of Inquiry. These efforts aim to undermine Israel’s legitimacy and deny its fundamental right to exist and defend itself. The ambassador added that substantial U.N. resources are being squandered on spreading misinformation, historical revisionism, and extremist ideologies. He urged the international community to reject the distortions, repudiate the findings, and demand the commission’s immediate dissolution.