Gaza report reignites debate over UN commission's credibility

Tel Aviv [Israel] September 17 (ANI/TPS): Israel sharply rejected a new United Nations report accusing it of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, calling the findings "distorted and false" and dismissing the authors as "Hamas proxies" on Tuesday.
The 72-page report, released by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, claimed that Israel is carrying out genocidal acts in Gaza.
Israel's Foreign Ministry issued a forceful statement, saying, "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 authors of promoting antisemitic narratives and noted that all three members had announced their resignations in July, with chair Navi Pillay's term ending in November.
"The attacks in southern Israel on 7 October 2023 were brutal war crimes but they did not pose an existential threat to the State of Israel," the commission claimed. "Israel was and is responsible for the protection of its population, but the means of doing that must take account of the fact that it has taken by force and is unlawfully occupying and settling Palestinian territory by continuing violence, denying the rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination."
The Foreign Ministry stressed that Israel strives to avoid civilian casualties and blamed Hamas for placing noncombatants in harm's way. "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.
Israel's Foreign Ministry dismissed the report as a repetition of false claims already debunked by independent research, including a study released in early September. That report, published by Bar-Ilan University's Begin-Sadat Centre for Strategic Studies, concluded that claims of genocide are based on flawed data and ultimately undermine international law.
The commission's three members -- South African jurist Navi Pillay, Australian human rights expert Chris Sidoti, and Indian scholar Miloon Kothari -- sparked renewed debate over the body's credibility and longstanding accusations of anti-Israel bias at the UN Human Rights Council, which appointed them.
Pillay's past comparisons of Israel to apartheid South Africa have drawn particular ire. In 2014, more than 100 members of the U.S. Congress signed a letter condemning her leadership at the UN Human Rights Council, arguing it showed a pattern of bias against Israel. Under Pillay, the council "simply cannot be taken seriously as a human rights organisation," the letter read.
Kothari was at the centre of a major controversy in 2022 when he said social media was "controlled largely by the Jewish lobby" and questioned Israel's right to UN membership -- remarks widely condemned as antisemitic. Pillay dismissed the backlash, calling it a "diversion" and labelling concerns about antisemitism "lies." Sidoti, too, drew criticism after accusing Jewish groups of throwing around antisemitism allegations "like rice at a wedding."
Established in 2021 by the UN Human Rights Council, the commission was tasked with investigating alleged violations of international law by Israel and Palestinian actors. But its findings have overwhelmingly targeted Israel, prompting condemnation from Jerusalem, Jewish organisations worldwide, and several Western governments. The body was unprecedented in its mandate, with no set end date, and was the council's highest level of inquiry.
Approximately 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas's attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on 7 October. Of the 48 remaining hostages, about 20 are believed to be alive. (ANI/TPS)