The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN) welcomes the release of Amnesty International’s groundbreaking report, “You Feel Like You Are Subhuman”: Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza.
This report provides compelling, independently verified evidence that Israel’s actions in Gaza, including killing civilians, obstructing humanitarian aid, and deliberately inflicting conditions of life designed to bring about physical destruction, constitute the crime of genocide under international law.
Amnesty’s findings are unprecedented, marking the first determination of genocide by a major human rights organisation during an active conflict.
These findings must serve as a wake-up call for the Australia government to use all mechanisms at its disposal to urgently address the systemic atrocities Israel is committing against Palestinians in Gaza.
The report highlights actions that Amnesty concludes demonstrate genocidal intent, including:
- The unparalleled scale and magnitude of destruction in Gaza, causing widespread death and displacement.
- Systematic attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, constituting prohibited acts under the Genocide Convention.
- Infliction of conditions calculated to destroy life, such as targeting medical infrastructure and obstructing aid.
The report underscores that these acts, committed with impunity, violate Israel’s legal obligations as an occupying power under international law. Agnès Callamard, Amnesty’s Secretary General, aptly stated: “This is genocide, and it must stop now.”
APAN calls on the Australian government to act decisively in response to these findings and to implement Amnesty’s recommendations by:
- Ensuring Israel complies with International Court of Justice orders, and ending any form of aid or assistance that might help Israel to maintain its illegal occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
- Opposing Israel’s military presence, border changes, and blockade of Gaza, and supporting humanitarian access through the Rafah crossing.
- Imposing a two-way arms embargo and ending the direct and indirect transfer of all weapons, munitions, components, military and security equipment or assistance to Israel.
- Using all economic, political, and diplomatic tools at its disposal to ensure Israel upholds international law and does not contribute to genocide.
- Pursuing accountability for crimes committed by Israel in Gaza, including war crimes and genocide, through domestic and international legal systems.
- Fully cooperating with the ICC and other justice bodies to investigate and prosecute perpetrators.
- Pressuring Israel to allow international investigators into Gaza.
Comments attributed to APAN President Nasser Mashni:
Amnesty’s report is a watershed moment, and its conclusion that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza leaves no room for equivocation. Israel’s intentional destruction of civilian infrastructure, its mass killings, and deliberate deprivation of essential resources are not collateral damages; they are acts of genocide.
Australia’s credibility on international law and human rights depends on swift and decisive action. Australia must respond with sanctions, a two-way arms embargo, and support for the international courts to investigate those responsible and hold them accountable.
Amnesty International’s report exposes Israel’s clear intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza, and it is time the Australian government acted with courage to play its part in putting an end to these atrocities.