{"id":50074,"date":"2024-11-17T15:09:17","date_gmt":"2024-11-17T23:09:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/?p=50074"},"modified":"2024-11-17T15:09:17","modified_gmt":"2024-11-17T23:09:17","slug":"pope-francis-urges-genocide-probe-of-israels-war-on-gaza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/2024\/11\/17\/pope-francis-urges-genocide-probe-of-israels-war-on-gaza\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope Francis Urges Genocide Probe of Israel&#8217;s War on Gaza"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In a new book set to be released this week, Pope Francis I endorsed a genocide investigation into Israel&#8217;s war on Gaza \u2013 which has killed or maimed more than 150,000 Palestinians and forcibly displaced, starved, or sickened millions more over the past 13 months.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In the Middle East, where the open doors of nations like Jordan or Lebanon continue to be a salvation for millions of people fleeing conflicts in the region: I am thinking above all of those who leave <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/gaza\">Gaza<\/a> in the midst of the famine that has struck their Palestinian brothers and sisters given the difficulty of getting food and aid into their territory,&#8221; the pontiff wrote in his <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.edizpiemme.it\/libri\/la-speranza-non-delude-mai\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">latest book,<\/a> which goes on sale in some countries on November 19.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;According to some experts, what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide,&#8221; the Pope added. &#8220;It should be carefully investigated to determine whether it fits into the technical definition formulated by jurists and international bodies.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">In a new book, the Pope writes that &quot;According to some experts, what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide&quot;, and says the claim should be &quot;carefully investigated&quot;. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/VEsNllwMn8\">https:\/\/t.co\/VEsNllwMn8<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Vatican News (@VaticanNews) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/VaticanNews\/status\/1858112095260131496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 17, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The Pope&#8217;s words echo last week&#8217;s <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/un-genocide-in-gaza\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">finding<\/a> by a United Nations expert panel that Israel&#8217;s annihilation of Gaza is &#8220;consistent with the characteristics of genocide.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The International Court of Justice \u2013 a U.N. organ \u2013 is currently weighing a <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/south-africa-icj-genocide-israel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">South Africa-led<\/a> genocide case against <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/israel\">Israel<\/a> backed by more than 30 nations and regional blocs as well as hundreds of groups and experts around the world.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court is <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/icc-arrest-warrant-israel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">seeking<\/a> arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as three former Hamas leaders assassinated by Israel, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, including extermination.<\/p>\n<p>Many <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/legal-scholars-israel-genocide\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">jurists<\/a>, <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/israel-arguments-icj\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">scholars<\/a>, and <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/genocide-gaza\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">other experts<\/a>\u2014<a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/article\/2024\/aug\/13\/israel-gaza-historian-omer-bartov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">including<\/a> some of Israel&#8217;s leading <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lemonde.fr\/en\/opinion\/article\/2024\/10\/29\/amos-goldberg-what-is-happening-in-gaza-is-a-genocide-because-gaza-does-not-exist-anymore_6730881_23.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Holocaust historians<\/a> \u2013 have called Israel&#8217;s policies and actions in Gaza genocide. Early in the war, Raz Segal \u2013 an Israeli historian and professor of Holocaust and genocide studies at Stockton University in New Jersey \u2013 <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/jewishcurrents.org\/a-textbook-case-of-genocide\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">called<\/a> Israel&#8217;s Gaza onslaught &#8220;a textbook case of genocide.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Numerous <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2024\/10\/1\/un-general-assembly-what-did-world-leaders-say-about-israels-war-on-gaza-2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">world leaders<\/a> and other <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/craig-mokhiber\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">international officials<\/a>, <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/artists_against_genocide_\/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">artists<\/a>, <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/culture\/2023\/dec\/02\/hollywood-divide-israel-gaza-conflict-susan-sarandon-cynthia-nixon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">entertainers<\/a>, and others \u2013 including half of Democratic voters in the United States <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/democratic-voters-israel-genocide\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">surveyed<\/a> in May \u2013 also agree that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.<\/p>\n<p>Many Palestinian Christians have been killed, injured, or otherwise harmed by Israeli forces during the bombardment, invasion, and siege of Gaza. With just 800 to 1,000 people believed remaining in Gaza, members of the world&#8217;s oldest Christian community <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/features\/2023\/11\/10\/extinction-gaza-christians-fear-for-communitys-survival-amid-israel-war\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">warned<\/a> early in the war that they were &#8220;under threat of extinction.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>In their most infamous attack on Gaza Christians, Israeli forces <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/former-us-rep-amash-says-relatives-killed-gaza-church-air-strike-2023-10-20\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bombed<\/a> the 12th century Saint Porphyrius Greek Orthodox Church, Gaza&#8217;s oldest, in October 2023, killing 18 Palestinians including numerous children. Among the victims were two women and an infant related to former Republican U.S. Congressman Justin Amash of Michigan.<\/p>\n<p>After an Israeli sniper <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vaticannews.va\/en\/world\/news\/2023-12\/in-gaza-israelis-attack-holy-family-parish-two-women-killed.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">fatally shot<\/a> an elderly woman and her daughter on the grounds of a Catholic church in Gaza City last December, Pope Francis <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vaticannews.va\/en\/pope\/news\/2023-12\/pope-francis-holy-family-parish-gaza-appeal-civilians.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">condemned<\/a> what he called an act of &#8220;terrorism.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Amid the death and destruction wrought by Israel&#8217;s assault on Gaza, last December&#8217;s Christmas celebrations were <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.democracynow.org\/2023\/12\/22\/christmas_cancelled_in_palestine_mitri_raheb\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">canceled<\/a> in Bethlehem, the purported birthplace of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;How can we celebrate when we feel this war\u2014this genocide \u2013 that is taking place could resume at any moment?&#8221; <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/sojo.net\/articles\/christmas-canceled-bethlehem-say-palestinian-christians\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">asked<\/a> Palestinian Lutheran pastor Munther Isaac at the time.<\/p>\n<p><i>Brett Wilkins is is staff writer for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/\">Common Dreams<\/a>. Based in San Francisco, his work covers issues of social justice, human rights and war and peace. This originally appeared at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/\">CommonDreams<\/a> and is reprinted with the author\u2019s permission.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a new book set to be released this week, Pope Francis I endorsed a genocide investigation into Israel&#8217;s war on Gaza \u2013 which has killed or maimed more than 150,000 Palestinians and forcibly displaced, starved, or sickened millions more over the past 13 months. &#8220;In the Middle East, where the open doors of nations [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":372,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-50074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"meta_box":{"disable_donate_message":"","custom_donate_message":"","subtitle":"The pontiff's call comes as the International Court of Justice is reviewing evidence in a South Africa-led genocide case against Israel."},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/372"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50074"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50074\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50081,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50074\/revisions\/50081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50074"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=50074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}