Today the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel (the Commission) submitted a report to the UN Human Rights Council. The Commission’s report, 'More than a human can bear': Israel's systematic use of sexual, reproductive and other forms of gender-based violence since 7 October 2023, accuses Israel of genocidal acts and sexual violence as a strategy of war. 

The Report affirms what Palestinians have said for the past 17 months: Israel’s actions in Gaza are genocidal. The Report explicitly notes that Israel has engaged in a concerted policy of destroying Gaza’s healthcare system, including health personnel and health infrastructure that provides sexual and reproductive healthcare. It also finds that Israel’s actions constitute genocidal acts. 

Dr Max Kaiser, executive officer, Jewish Council of Australia, said:

'This report provides yet more damning evidence of Israel’s systematic use of gender-based violence as a weapon of war, including rape, sexualised torture, and the deliberate destruction of Palestinian reproductive healthcare. These are not isolated incidents—they are part of a broader strategy to dominate and attempt to destroy the Palestinian people.

'We call on the Australian government to enact immediate sanctions on Israel and expel the Israeli ambassador. If our leaders fail to act, they will be complicit in genocide.

This damning report comes at a time when Palestinians and their allies face increasing repression in the USA as well as in Australia. While Palestinians in Gaza and elsewhere in Palestine face unbearable cruelty and violence at the hands of the Israeli State, many who are advocating against these actions, and drawing attention to them, are being marginalised and persecuted.'

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