Shafaq News – Geneva / New York

Israel is pursuing permanent control of Gaza while ensuring a Jewish majority across the West Bank and inside Israel, a UN commission affirmed on Tuesday in a report that will be presented to the General Assembly’s 80th session on 28 October.

The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory held Israel responsible for genocide and incitement to it by senior leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. It found Israeli forces had systematically demolished civilian infrastructure, expanded buffer zones that cover 75 percent of Gaza, and created conditions of life “calculated to destroy” Palestinians.

In the West Bank, the inquiry pointed to forced transfers, settlement expansion, and plans by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to annex 82 percent of the territory. Navi Pillay, Chair of the Commission, warned that Israeli policies in Gaza and the West Bank demonstrate “abhorrent” intent to prevent Palestinian self-determination.

The UN Commission identified six Israeli ministers as bearing the most responsibility for “international crimes” and urged Israel to comply with International Court of Justice rulings, dismantle settlements, and end discriminatory policies.

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