Amnesty International Israel issued a statement Thursday rejecting the main findings of a report released by its global movement, which accuses Israel of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip. The report claims that Israel's actions amount to genocidal practices. However, the Israeli section of the organization has distanced itself from these conclusions, stating that while it recognizes the catastrophic scale of destruction in Gaza, it does not believe the actions meet the legal definition of genocide.
The Israeli section emphasized that it neither initiated nor contributed to the report, nor did it support its operational calls. The leadership of Amnesty Israel maintains that while there are voices within the organization that believe the genocide accusation could be substantiated, the majority disagree. Despite this internal division, the organization has made it clear that these views should not be seen as a formal endorsement of the global report's conclusions.
Amnesty Israel's position is rooted in the belief that while the scale of violence is undeniable, the evidence does not meet the rigorous legal criteria for genocide, as outlined in the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. In particular, the organization points to the lack of "specific intent" to destroy Palestinians as a group, a key element required to prove genocide.
Amnesty Israel's statement concludes with a call for a comprehensive investigation into potential war crimes by all sides and an appeal for a sustainable peace agreement based on international law, which guarantees the security, freedom, and dignity of all people in the region.
