B’Tselem Report links Israeli Actions to “Genocide,” Highlights‍ Root ‍Causes and West Bank Violence

An Israeli human rights group, B’Tselem, has released a report titled “Our Genocide,” which argues that Israel is perpetrating genocide in gaza and examines the past⁢ root⁢ causes of the ongoing conflict. The ⁣report also critiques the israeli⁢ government’s exploitation of the October 7th Hamas attacks⁣ to advance pre-existing policies.The report’s author, Sarit Michael, speaking with⁤ Amy Goodman on Democracy⁣ Now!, emphasized that the document goes beyond the immediate situation in Gaza to explore the underlying factors that have led⁢ to the current “horrendous stage.” Michael stated that the⁢ report aims to understand “how, what⁢ made it possible⁢ for us to reach this horrendous stage, where Israel is perpetrating genocide, where the‍ international community‍ is not stopping this, where Israelis, the majority of Israelis, are either ⁢silent or supportive of⁢ this genocide.” The report also seeks to⁢ identify actions that individuals within Israel, both Israelis and Palestinians operating within Israeli civil society, can take to halt⁢ the violence.

October 7th as a Catalyst and Exploitation

Michael described the October 7th Hamas atrocities against Israeli civilians as a “horrific, horrendous trigger.” However, she argued that these events were “exploited cynically by our government in order to push policies that ⁣the government and very ‍powerful members of our government have been⁤ trying to promote even before, as I said, this massacre of October 7th.” This suggests a deliberate strategy by the⁣ Israeli government to leverage the trauma of ⁢the attacks⁤ to further‍ its⁢ agenda.

West ⁤Bank Violence ⁣and Impunity

The⁢ discussion ⁢also touched upon escalating violence in the occupied West Bank. Amy Goodman highlighted‍ the ⁣recent⁢ killing of Odeh ‍Muhammad Hadalin, a palestinian activist and teacher involved in the oscar-winning documentary No Other Land.Hadalin was shot and killed by an ‍Israeli settler identified as Yinon Levi, who had previously been sanctioned by the Biden governance, only for those sanctions to be lifted by ⁢the Trump administration.

sarit Michael ⁤characterized this incident as a‍ “clear example of how exposed palestinian lives are under Israeli occupation and apartheid, both in the West Bank ⁤and certainly in Gaza.” She attributed the lack of consequences for individuals like Levi to “policy, and it’s also the result of international inaction.” Michael further described the lifting of sanctions by the Trump administration as symbolic of an “entire system of impunity and support for this ⁢settler terror that has been responsible and that we see as responsible⁣ for the killing of dear Odeh hadalin.”⁣ She ⁤remembered Hadalin as an “inspiring and amazing activist” whose death was “simply shocking.”

B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights organization, continues to document and advocate against human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian⁤ territories.The report ⁤”Our ⁤Genocide” represents a notable contribution ‍to⁣ the discourse by framing the current events within a historical context and calling for urgent ⁣action from within Israeli society and the⁤ international community.