Gaza Tribunal: Western Governments Complicit in Israel’s Genocide

In Istanbul University’s Prof. Dr. Cemil Bilsel Conference Hall, members of the Gaza Tribunal, chaired by former United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on Palestine, Prof. Dr. Richard Falk, announced their final decision.

The statement, which included the names of Gaza Tribunal’s Jury of Conscience members Prof. Sami Al-Arian, Prof. Christine Chinkin, Dr. Ghada Karmi, author Kenize Mourad, Prof. Chandra Muzaffar, and Prof. Biljana Vankovska, emphasized that the jury was informed by international law and guided by conscience, and did not speak with the authority of states.

Highlighting the presentation of the Findings and Moral Judgment Declaration, the statement said, “When law is silenced by power, conscience must become the final arbiter.”

The statement noted that, as the Gaza Tribunal is not a court of law, it does not aim to determine the guilt or responsibility of any person, organization, or state. The tribunal emerged as a response from civil society to the failure of Israel to take responsibility and be held accountable for the genocide it committed in the Gaza Strip.

“Kokcha News Agency” – “We believe that genocide must be named and documented, and that impunity fuels continued violence worldwide. The genocide in Gaza is a problem for all humanity. When states remain silent, civil society can and must speak,” the statement said, adding that the Gaza Tribunal has gathered a valuable archive providing lasting evidence of the genocide against the Palestinian people.

The statement noted that the jury stands in solidarity with rallies, marches, camps, flotillas, strikes, and other actions protesting the genocide and the unwillingness of states to hold Israel accountable, and added:

“It presents a narrative against the security discourse persistently voiced by Israel and its allies, and the characterization of the suffering of Palestinians as a humanitarian disaster. It is not. This is one of the gravest crimes, deliberately committed in such a way as to produce terrible humanitarian consequences.”

The statement pointed out that comprehensive evidence was seen regarding the crimes committed by Israel, the causes of the genocide, the complicity and collaboration of other actors, and the courageous resistance and resilience of the Palestinian people. The statement also emphasized that poignant personal testimonies regarding the physical and psychological harm caused by these crimes, as well as the suffering of the Palestinian people, were heard.

The statement indicated that the concluding statement presents findings based on evidence and the legal standards of the Genocide Convention, human rights agreements, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), and the moral imperatives of natural justice, emphasizing:

“But above all, this declaration is based on the unwavering belief that every human life is of equal value and that no state or ideology has the right to destroy a people entirely.”

The statement, pointing out that the declaration is based on the verbal and written statements of many people in recent months, expert opinions, research, and analysis reports, noted that the Sarajevo Declaration adopted in May was reiterated and supported.

Israel’s War Crimes Condemned Respectively

The statement noted that these crimes and their effects on the Palestinian people must be addressed separately to understand the holistic nature of genocide, the dehumanization of people, and its sadistic character. It was pointed out that these crimes did not start in October 2023 and will not end with a ceasefire, and that deaths and severe physical damage will continue.

The statement drew attention to the fact that the physical and psychological trauma of the surviving population will be passed down through generations.

The jury condemned the ongoing genocide and crimes, and the crimes condemned were listed as follows:

• “Hunger and famine through the deliberate denial of food and water” and the systematic destruction of the entire food system.

• “Domocide” is much more than the deliberate mass destruction of homes and infrastructure (electricity, water, and sanitation). A home is a storehouse of love, life, memories, hopes, and aspirations. Its destruction causes displacement, trauma, the breakup of communities, and deep cultural losses.

• “Enviro-cide” describes a special type of warfare based on the destruction of soil fertility, air quality, food, and water resources, causing devastating environmental damage that destroys the capacity to survive after the bombing ends.

• “The deliberate destruction and targeting of health infrastructure, equipment, and personnel” has been systematically ongoing for decades. The most important issue in terms of physical and mental health is the Israeli occupation and the dehumanization of the people.

• “Reproductive genocide” is the deliberate and systematic targeting of Palestinian reproductive health services by preventing births, eliminating future lives, and the ability to reproduce safely.

• “Scholasticide” is the genocide of knowledge. It is the destruction of Palestine’s intellectual future by killing, silencing, and displacing a generation of students and teachers, razing schools and universities, and destroying dreams and aspirations.

• “Attacks on journalists.” The documentation of genocide is carried out by Palestinian journalists, who are targeted along with their families. Silencing these journalists helps to conceal the genocide, and more journalists are being killed than in any other conflict.

• Torture, sexual violence, disappearances, gender-based violence in detention, at checkpoints, during house searches, displacement, and elsewhere.

• “Politicide” is the targeted killing and abduction of political and cultural leaders, representatives, activists, and the destruction of civil institutions.

The statement noted that a consistent and systematic pattern of destruction violence was found in the deliberate and targeted destruction of homes, water resources, schools, hospitals, clinics, universities, cultural and religious institutions, agricultural lands, and natural ecosystems, and said, “The weaponization of hunger (by Israel), the denial of medical care, and forced displacement are not side effects of the war. These are tools of collective punishment and genocide against the entire population. These actions cannot be justified by any claim of military objective.”

Collaborations with Israel

“The jury found that Western governments, particularly the US and others, are complicit in Israel’s commission of genocide by cooperating in some cases through diplomatic protection, weapons, weapons parts, intelligence, military assistance and training, as well as ongoing economic relations,” the statement said, emphasizing that such actions demonstrate moral collapse.

The statement noted that such actions constitute a violation of their legal obligations to cooperate to prevent genocide and to end the violation of a peremptory norm of international law, which includes the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.

It was emphasized that remaining silent and inaction in the face of genocide is “another form of complicity.”

The statement noted that the jury found a number of non-state actors to be complicit in the genocide, adding that the biased reporting of the Western media about Palestine and the underreporting of Israeli crimes is in line with the economic and political interests of the ruling elites and their common interests.

It was underlined that academic institutions support Israel with their investments, and it was pointed out that faculty members and students who support Palestine are silenced or disciplined.

“Israel is Committing Genocide Against the People in Gaza”

The statement noted that global supply chains support Israel’s genocide in Gaza through weapons, technology, transportation, and other multinational companies, and noted that the high-tech sector helps Israel plan its air strikes.

The statement also stated that companies selling cloud capacity to the Tel Aviv administration provide the computing power necessary for genocide, adding that the UN “abandoned” its founding responsibility to “save succeeding generations from the scourge of war” due to veto rights and political reasons.

The statement said, “Israel is committing genocide against the people in Gaza within a broad apartheid regime, rooted in the supremacist ideology of Zionism.”

The statement noted that the current global order is inadequate to prevent or punish crimes against humanity committed by powerful states or their allies, and emphasized:

“This campaign cannot be considered separately from the project that has been targeting Palestinians in all of Palestine and in exile for over a century. The root causes of the genocide lie in Zionism, a racist, supremacist ideology that supports a system aimed at dispossessing, subjugating, and eliminating Palestinians. This system is supported by an oppressive neo-colonial power structure led by the US and its allies, and is protected by international complicity, including many governments.”

Decisions of International Platforms are Ignored

The statement noted that although South Africa applied to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, these steps were ignored by Israel.

The statement underlined that other countries did not protest Israel sufficiently and imposed minimal sanctions on the Tel Aviv government, and emphasized that the US imposed sanctions on ICC personnel and civil society organizations that assist the court instead of Israel.

The statement suggested that all perpetrators, supporters, facilitators, and accomplices who are politically, militarily, economically, and ideologically responsible should be held accountable to the fullest extent permitted by law, and that Israel’s presence in international institutions and organizations such as the UN should be suspended.

In addition, the statement called for the implementation of UN General Assembly Resolution 377 A(V). Thus, it was emphasized that in cases where the UN Security Council cannot act due to the veto right used by the US, the UN General Assembly could commission a protection force in the Palestinian territories and pave the way for collective measures to stop the genocide in Gaza.

The jury reaffirmed the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and to choose forms of resistance to achieve liberation, freedom, and independence. It called for the establishment of a worldwide movement that will weaken, isolate, and eliminate each resource through coordinated political, legal, economic, academic, cultural, technological, and social actions.

The statement noted that two main tasks will be prioritized to resist and overthrow the oppressive structures in Palestine: an end to the displacement of Palestinians, especially refugees in the region, by forcing them into exile, and the struggle against the Zionist regime in all areas.

The statement used the expression, “The jury affirms that the struggle is not with Jews or Judaism, but with Zionism, which is a racist, supremacist, settler-colonial enterprise,” emphasizing that only this path can end the ongoing genocide and pave the way for a just and lasting peace for everyone living in Palestine and beyond.