UN Commission Values Israel Performs Genocide For Attacking Schools And Places Of Worship

The death toll of civilians in Gaza. (Wikimedia Commons/Fars Media Corporation/Saleh Najm and Anas Sharif)

JAKARTA - The United Nations' Independent International Research Commission on occupied Palestinian Territories and Israel accuses Israel of committing genocide by targeting civilians sheltering in schools and places of worship in Gaza, as part of what it describes as a "systematic campaign to erase Palestinian life."

The commission, led by former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, will submit its full report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on June 17.

"There is ample evidence that Israel is carrying out a deliberate and systematic campaign to eliminate Palestinian life in Gaza," Pillay said in a statement.

He added that targeting Palestinian education, culture and religious life will have long-lasting consequences for the current and future generations, which undermine their right to self-determine.

The commission has examined Israeli attacks on schools, mosques and cultural institutions to determine whether international law is violated.

According to its latest findings, Israel has destroyed more than 90 percent of school buildings and universities in Gaza, along with more than half of the religious and cultural sites in the enclave.

The report also concluded Israeli forces had committed war crimes, including intentional attacks on civilians and the killing of people seeking refuge in educational and religious facilities.

Damage to the Palestinian education system, according to the commission, is not limited in Gaza. This highlights the increased military operations of Israel in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as well as the increasing abuse of students and settlers' violence.

Israel withdrew from the UN Human Rights Council in February, accusing it of bias.

As of yesterday, medical sources in Gaza noted that Palestinian deaths in the enclave since October 2023 have reached 54,880 people, the majority of children and women, while the injured reached 126,227 people.