The United Nations Independence International Committee on Inquiry into Occupied Palestinian Territories, which includes East Jerusalem and Israel, led by Navi Pillay, has labeled Israel’s actions as “genocide” this past Tuesday.
Pillay, following in a trend among some South Africans, has made these assertions of “genocide,” a narrative that appears to rely on past experiences in South Africa to critique Israel.
In a piece for the New York Times, she argued that the conflict in Gaza started with Hamas’s severe attacks on 1,200 Israeli civilians, likening it to the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
She also stated:
The devastation is staggering. Over 64,000 Palestinians have died, including more than 18,000 children and nearly 10,000 women, according to the Gazan Health Authority. Life expectancy in Gaza has plummeted from 75 years to about 40 in just one year, marking one of the sharpest declines recorded. Hospitals, schools, churches, mosques, and entire neighborhoods have been obliterated. Our analysis indicates that starvation is weaponized, and the healthcare system is intentionally dismantled. Maternal healthcare is critically harmed. Children are being starved, shot, and buried beneath rubble. UNICEF reports that one child dies every hour in Gaza. These are not mere collateral damage; they are deliberate acts aimed at erasing a people.
However, Pillay does not challenge Hamas’s narratives or address their own negligence in the ongoing conflict. She also perpetuates inaccuracies regarding Palestinian casualties at a site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, disregarding the fact that Israel has provided humanitarian aid to its adversaries despite being the entity blamed for the conflict.
The report includes clear inaccuracies, such as a biblical error brought up by a South African legal team that labeled Israel’s actions as “genocide” in the International Court of Justice earlier in 2024.
She does mention the hostages taken by Hamas but does not call for their immediate release.
In response, Israel pointed out that “Hamas is well known for its openly anti-Semitic stance.”
Pillay’s long history reflects a consistent anti-Israel bias, prevalent among the legal, media, and political sectors in South Africa.
