Punishment for genocide

While I never thought I would witness a genocide in my time on this planet, there have been several; one of the worst, and happening now, is the appalling genocide perpetrated by Israel on Palestinians in Gaza. Numerous organisations have called this a genocide¹ and now the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory has delivered their report. They have found that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip².

The Commission has been investigating the events on and since 7 October 2023, and concluded that Israeli authorities and Israeli security forces committed four of the five genocidal acts defined by the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, namely killing, causing serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of the Palestinians in whole or in part, and imposing measures intended to prevent births².

One of the commissioners, Australian Chris Sidoti is an expert on international human rights law, a lawyer and advocate. He is a former Australian Human Rights Commissioner, and a former commissioner of the Australian Law Reform Commission, and has held a range of other posts. He has written a piece for the Sydney Morning Herald which is worth reading³.

He writes “We have reported on the killings in Gaza, especially of children and women, the destruction of the territory’s housing, its healthcare system and its education system, sex and gender-based violence, attacks on mosques, churches, archaeological sites and museums. Based on its own extensive investigations and the findings of those seven reports, the commission has now found that Israel is responsible for genocide in Gaza”.

There is an obligation by member states of the UN to prevent genocide when there is a serious risk of it occurring.

On January 26, 2024, the International Court of Justice stated that there was a risk of genocide in Gaza, thus triggering that obligation of UN member states to prevent genocide taking place. Australia did nothing beyond calling for a ceasefire and later announcing its intention to recognise a Palestinian state; it has now done the latter⁴. This only sends a message to Israel; it does nothing to stop the murder that is being perpetrated daily. Apart from sending a message, all it does is essentially maintain the previous status quo. Meanwhile, Australia continues to provide parts for Israel’s F35 attack aircraft⁵.

While member states are supposed to try to prevent genocide, when genocide is occurring, the legal obligation for member states to punish those perpetrating genocide is activated. Some states are now starting to act⁶.

Sidoti has listed actions Australia can take immediately in fulfilment of its obligation to prevent genocide³. He says we can:

1. Cease all trade between Australia and Israel, not only in actual weapons but in all products, components and technology that are or could be put to military use and end all trade with those companies in Israel that develop or manufacture these products³. I’d suggest that we cease all trade of any sort with Israel.
2. Close the Australian Trade and Defence Office in Jerusalem and end Australian diplomatic representation in Israel in relation to defence and trade³.
3. Impose further personal sanctions against individuals in political and military leadership roles, especially those who order or incite the commission of genocide³. I’d suggest that we impose personal sanctions on anyone in the Netanyahu government and anyone who has served in the Israeli Defence Force during the last two years such that they are prevented from ever entering Australia.
4. Investigate and, where the evidence warrants it, prosecute Australian citizens who have served in the Israeli Defence Forces since October 7, 2023, for genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity³. I’d suggest that international arrest warrants be issued for them such that wherever they go, they could be subject to arrest and extradition and rendered to the International Criminal Court.
5. Prohibit Australian citizens from fighting in the armed forces of foreign states, including Israel³. I’d suggest that if anyone does this, they are prevented from entering Australia, as stated in Item 3 above.
6. Prohibit financial transactions with Israeli settlements and with Israeli organisations that support the establishment or maintenance of settlements³. I’d suggest also suggest that we sanction any company anywhere who does this.
7. End tax-deductibility for any Australian charity that provides funding for settlements or for Israeli organisations that support the establishment or maintenance of settlements³.
8. Implement all orders and decisions of international courts relating to this violence³.

Australia had an obligation to act to try to prevent genocide, and now that it has been declared, Australia has an obligation to punish those responsible where it is able to do so.

After the Second World War, 199 Nazis were tried at Nuremberg in front of an International Military Tribunal⁷, for the following:

1. Conspiracy to commit charges 2, 3, and 4, which are listed here⁷; 
2. crimes against peace—defined as participation in the planning and waging of a war of aggression in violation of numerous international treaties⁷; 
3. war crimes—defined as violations of the internationally agreed upon rules for waging war⁷; and
4. crimes against humanity—namely, murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation, and other inhumane acts committed against any civilian population, before or during the war; or persecution on political, racial, or religious grounds in execution of or in connection with any crime within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal, whether or not in violation of domestic law of the country where perpetrated⁷.

It beggars belief that it is possible to talk, in the same terms, of the holocaust perpetrated on European Jews before and during the Second World War, and what has been perpetrated by descendants of those same European Jews on the Palestinians.

While many UN member states have supported a two state solution to the Palestine/Israel quandary, I suspect a better solution would be a one state solution, with Palestinians and Israelis forced to live together in one nation, Palestine, with democratically elected governments with all people having the same rights. One way to decrease the amount of violence in the middle east is to abolish Israel as an entity.

Sources

1. https://blotreport.com/2025/09/01/is-the-abc-scared-of-or-run-by-zionists/
2. https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/09/israel-has-committed-genocide-gaza-strip-un-commission-finds
3. https://www.smh.com.au/world/middle-east/no-point-hesitating-to-name-israel-s-genocide-australia-is-already-legally-culpable-20250918-p5mw5d.html
4. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/sep/21/australia-joins-uk-and-canada-in-formally-recognising-palestinian-state
5. https://blotreport.com/2025/08/05/do-they-think-we-are-stupid/
6. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/15/spains-pm-criticised-after-vuelta-a-espana-race-abandoned-over-pro-palestinian-protests
7. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-nuremberg-trials