GENEVA, Sept 16 (Reuters) - A United Nations Commission of Inquiry concluded on Tuesday that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza and that senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have encouraged these acts - accusations that Israel called outrageous.
The UN report, released as Israel announced the launch of a ground operation in Gaza City, cites examples of the scale of killings, aid blockades, forced displacement and the destruction of a fertility clinic to support the conclusion of genocide, joining a body of scholars and human rights groups that have reached the same conclusion.
“Today we witness in real time how the promise of ‘never again’ is broken and put to the test before the eyes of the world. The ongoing genocide in Gaza is a moral disgrace and a legal emergency,” said Navi Pillay, chair of the Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territories and former judge of the International Criminal Court, at a press conference in Geneva.
"Responsibility for these atrocity crimes lies with the Israeli authorities at the highest levels who have orchestrated a genocidal campaign for almost two years with the clear aim of destroying the Palestinian group in Gaza."
Israel's ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Daniel Meron, called the report "scandalous" and "false", saying it was drafted by "Hamas proxies".
"Israel categorically rejects the defamatory speech published today by this investigative committee," Meron told reporters.
Israel accuses the commission of having a political agenda against it and of evading its mandate, and refused to cooperate with it.
Asked to respond to Israel's comments, Pillay said: "I would like them to tell us where we got these facts wrong, or simply cooperate with us."
The commission's 72-page legal analysis is the strongest finding yet from the UN, but the body is independent and does not officially speak for the United Nations. The UN has not yet used the term 'genocide' but is under increasing pressure to do so.
Pillay said she hoped UN human rights chief Volker Turk and Secretary-General Antonio Guterres would read the report and "be guided by the facts."
