00:00 I declare open agenda item 7 entitled "Your Rights in the Palestinian Territory Occupied
00:06 Since 1967."
00:09 Following nearly six months of unrelenting Israeli assault on occupied Gaza, it is my
00:15 solemn duty to report on the worst of what humanity is capable of and to present my finding,
00:25 the anatomy of a genocide.
00:29 History teaches us that genocide is a process, not a single act.
00:33 It starts with the dehumanization of a group as other and the denial of that group's humanity
00:40 and ends with the destruction of the group in whole or in part.
00:45 The dehumanization of Palestinians as a group is the hallmark of their history of ethnic
00:52 cleansing, dispossession, and apartheid.
00:55 I find that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the threshold indicating the
00:59 commission of the crime of genocide against Palestinians as a group in Gaza has been met.
01:04 Specifically, Israel has committed three acts of genocide with a requisite intent, causing
01:09 serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group, deliberately inflicting on the
01:15 group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or
01:20 in part, and imposing measures intended to prevent birth within the group.
01:26 The genocide in Gaza is the most extreme stage of a longstanding settler colonial process
01:31 of erasure of the native Palestinians.
01:34 In this darkest hour, the international community cannot continue to ignore that it's Israel's
01:39 project to rid Palestine of Palestinians in defiance of international law and the world's
01:44 failure to call Israel to account that has led to genocide laid bare in Gaza.
01:52 Denial of the reality and the continuation of Israel's impunity and exceptionalism is
01:57 no longer viable.
01:59 Especially in light of yesterday's binding Security Council resolution, I implore Member
02:05 States to abide by their obligations, which start with imposing an arms embargo and sanctions
02:11 on Israel, and so ensure that the future does not continue to repeat itself.
02:18 Those who managed to evacuate to areas that Israel defined as safe humanitarian zones
02:24 have been met with further attacks, their deaths and injuries justified as collateral
02:28 damage.
02:30 By making repeated claims which have been systematically discredited, that Hamas used
02:35 hospitals as operation centres, Israel appears to be operating on the premise that if you
02:42 tell a lie long enough, people will believe it.
02:46 Thank you.
02:47 I now give the floor to - according to our practice, we will start by hearing from -
02:53 [Applause]
02:54 [Silence]
02:54 [Silence]
Comments