Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, a team of independent experts commissioned by the United Nations Human Rights Council has concluded.
The findings by the three-member team form the latest accusation of genocide against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government by rights advocates. Israel rejected what it called a “distorted and false” report.
The report calls on the international community to end the genocide and take steps to punish those responsible for it. However, the Israeli army has intensified its war on Gaza city overnight and into Tuesday, destroying infrastructure it says belongs to Hamas, and calling on people to leave.
The panel, headed by former UN rights chief Navi Pillay, said Israel had committed four of the five “genocidal acts” defined under the Genocide Convention since the deadly October 7, 2023, attacks in Israel led by Hamas. They are: killing members of a group, causing them serious bodily and mental harm, deliberately inflicting conditions calculated to destroy the group and preventing births.
The Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel, which was created four years ago, has repeatedly documented alleged human rights abuses and violations in Gaza and other Palestinian areas since October 7.
“The Commission finds that Israel is responsible for the commission of genocide in Gaza,” said Ms Pillay. “It is clear that there is an intent to destroy the Palestinians in Gaza through acts that meet the criteria set forth in the Genocide Convention.” The convention was adopted in 1948, three years after the end of the Second World War and the Holocaust.
Ms Pillay said “responsibility for the atrocity crimes lies with Israeli authorities at the highest echelons” over the nearly two-year war.
Her team concluded that Mr Netanyahu, as well as Israeli President Isaac Herzog and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, had incited genocide. Israel has adamantly rejected genocide allegations against it as an anti-Semitic “blood libel.”
Israel's Foreign Ministry issued an angry response on Tuesday, saying it “categorically rejects this distorted and false report”.
“Three individuals serving as Hamas proxies, notorious for their openly anti-Semitic positions – and whose horrific statements about Jews have been condemned worldwide – released today another fake ‘report’ about Gaza,” it said.
While neither the Commission nor the 47-member state council that it works for within the UN system can take action against a country, the findings could be used by prosecutors at the International Criminal Court or the UN's International Court of Justice. The team does not speak for the United Nations.
Israel has refused to co-operate with the Commission and has accused it and the Human Rights Council of bias against it. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump's administration, a key benefactor of Israel, pulled the US out of the council, which is the UN's highest human rights body.
Genocide accusations are especially sensitive in Israel, which was founded as a haven for Jews following the Holocaust and where memories of the Holocaust still play an important role in the country’s national identity.
The experts said they pored over the conduct of Israeli security forces and “explicit statements” by Israeli civilian and military authorities, among other criteria.
In particular, the experts cited as factors the high death toll, Israel's “total siege” of Gaza and blockade of humanitarian aid that has led to starvation, a policy of “systematically destroying” the health care system, and direct targeting of children.
“The international community cannot stay silent on the genocidal campaign launched by Israel against the Palestinian people in Gaza,” said Ms Pillay, who is a South African jurist. “When clear signs and evidence of genocide emerge, the absence of action to stop it amounts to complicity.”
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, has decried Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza and spoken out forcefully against alleged crimes, but has not accused Israel of carrying out genocide.
His office, alluding to international law, has argued that only an international court can make a final, formal determination of genocide. Critics counter that could take years and insist that thousands of people, many of them civilians, are being systematically killed in Gaza in the meantime.
The International Court of Justice is hearing a genocide case filed by South Africa against Israel.
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
Top 10 in the F1 drivers' standings
1. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari 202 points
2. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-GP 188
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes-GP 169
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing 117
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari 116
6. Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing 67
7. Sergio Perez, Force India 56
8. Esteban Ocon, Force India 45
9. Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso 35
10. Nico Hulkenberg, Renault 26
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
Armies of Sand
By Kenneth Pollack (Oxford University Press)
