Tel Aviv: Israel on Tuesday strongly rejected a new United Nations report accusing it of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, calling the findings “distorted and false” and describing the authors as “Hamas proxies.”
The 72-page report, issued by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, alleged that Israel is engaging in genocidal acts in Gaza.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry issued a forceful response, stating, “The report relies entirely on Hamas falsehoods, laundered and repeated by others. Israel categorically rejects this distorted and false report and calls for the immediate abolition of this Commission of Inquiry.”
The ministry also accused the commission’s members of promoting antisemitic narratives, noting that all three had announced their resignations in July, with chair Navi Pillay’s term ending in November.
The commission, in its report, claimed that the October 7, 2023, attacks in southern Israel were brutal war crimes but did not threaten the existence of the State of Israel. It argued that Israel is responsible for protecting its population but must do so while considering its ongoing occupation and settlement of Palestinian territories.
Israel countered that it seeks to avoid civilian casualties and accused Hamas of deliberately endangering noncombatants. “In stark contrast to the lies in the report, Hamas is the party that attempted genocide in Israel — murdering 1,200 people, raping women, burning families alive, and openly declaring its goal of killing every Jew,” the ministry said.
The Foreign Ministry dismissed the report as repeating false claims already refuted by independent research, including a study released in early September by Bar-Ilan University’s Begin-Sadat Centre for Strategic Studies, which concluded that genocide allegations were based on flawed data.
The commission’s members — South African jurist Navi Pillay, Australian human rights expert Chris Sidoti, and Indian scholar Miloon Kothari — have long faced scrutiny over perceived anti-Israel bias. Pillay’s past comparisons of Israel to apartheid South Africa drew criticism from over 100 U.S. Congress members in 2014, who argued the Human Rights Council under her leadership could not be taken seriously.
Kothari faced controversy in 2022 for remarks suggesting social media was “controlled largely by the Jewish lobby” and questioning Israel’s UN membership, widely condemned as antisemitic. Pillay dismissed the backlash as a “diversion,” and Sidoti was also criticized for comments on antisemitism allegations.
The commission, established in 2021 by the UN Human Rights Council, investigates alleged violations of international law by both Israel and Palestinian actors. Its findings have predominantly targeted Israel, drawing condemnation from Jerusalem, Jewish organizations globally, and several Western governments.
Hamas’s October 7 attacks killed approximately 1,200 people and took 252 Israelis and foreigners hostage near the Gaza border. Of the remaining 48 hostages, around 20 are believed to be alive.
