Pax Christi International welcomes the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry’s report confirming that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza. This report affirms what experts, including Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory, have long documented: the systematic destruction of Palestinian life, homes, and livelihoods.
While the Commission’s report focuses on Gaza, reports from Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the UN Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People have documented acts of genocide and ethnic cleansing in the West Bank. These reports highlight the forcible displacement of Palestinian communities, destruction of homes and infrastructure, and the imposition of conditions that threaten the survival of the Palestinian population.
The findings align with the International Court of Justice’s provisional measures, which have repeatedly called on Israel to halt actions that threaten the survival and dignity of Palestinians. These confirmations serve as a stark reminder of the legal and moral obligations that have been repeatedly highlighted and too often ignored.
We stand in unwavering solidarity with all innocent civilians, whose steadfastness bears witness to the value of every human life under conditions designed to destroy it. As people of faith and conscience, we lament the suffering of innocent civilians and affirm that silence in the face of atrocity is a moral failing. To ignore Palestinian suffering is to abandon our shared responsibility for a just peace.