The Albany Democrat Herald has published this moving essay by VFP: Linus Pauling Chapter President Rick Staggenborg. You can read the full text at the paper’s website using this link or continue reading below.
In the closing days of 2023, after more than 80 days of near-continuous Israeli bombing of one of the most densely populated areas in the world, South Africa filed genocide charges against Israel in the World Court for its response to the Oct. 7 Hamas raid in the Occupied territories along its border.
According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the Israeli State Attorney’s office has warned the Israel Defense Forces chief of staff there is real “danger” Israel will be ordered to cease its attack.
The document makes clear that Israel has made no effort to minimize civilian casualties or choose targets based solely on military value. At the time of its filing, more than 21,000 Gazans had been killed, the great majority of deaths being women and children. Most of the men killed are likewise noncombatants.
Israel has destroyed at least 60% of the homes in Gaza and displaced 85% of its population.
The military uses 2-ton bombs in residential areas. This weapon has rarely been used since Vietnam, and never in densely populated areas. While these unguided bombs have a kill radius of up to five city blocks, Israel has admitted using them to target single terrorists. Multiple such bombs were dropped on one refugee camp in a single attack.
As stated in the charges, Israel has killed civilians “in their homes … in hospitals, in United Nations Relief and Works Agency schools, in churches, in mosques. … They have been killed if they fail to evacuate, in the places to which they have fled, and even while they attempted to flee along Israeli-declared ‘safe routes.’”
The only designated safe area left is a desolate, trash-strewn beach with no provisions to shelter any of the nearly 2 million Palestinians made refugees by the relentless assault. Statements by Israeli advisers, officials and the military indicate that the intent was to drive the population into Egypt. Though Egypt has not cooperated in this final act of ethnic cleansing, the assault continues.
Meanwhile, an average of 115 children daily die while thousands are left orphaned, limbless and otherwise permanently disabled. All suffer unimaginable psychological trauma from ceaseless violence, hunger and fear.
Israel has targeted not only hospitals, but ambulances and health care workers. Destroying the health care system is one component of the finding of “inflicting conditions of life intended to bring about their destruction as a group.”
Restricting food so severely that 50% of the population is starving, embargoing critical medical supplies, and poisoning the water supply to the point that there is almost no drinkable water, leading to the threat of cholera epidemic, are others.
An essential element in proving genocide is establishing intent. While generally difficult because most states are careful not to make incriminating statements, many Israeli military and political leaders have freely made public statements indicating genocidal intent.
In one example, when referring to how Israel was going to respond to the Hamas attack, Netanyahu referenced the Biblical story of Amalek, in which Israelites are told, “Spare no one, but kill alike men and women, infants and sucklings, oxen and sheep, camels and asses.”
In another, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant justified cutting off food, fuel and other necessities to the helpless population with the statement, “We are fighting human animals, and we are acting accordingly.”
It’s time that those who object to the use of the word “genocide” in relation to Israeli actions stop and take a look at the voluminous evidence cited in the 85-page petition.
History does not judge kindly those who refuse to recognize and intervene to stop an ongoing genocide, whatever their rationalizations.
–Rick Staggenborg, MD
Veterans For Peace, Linus Pauling Chapter 