How the term ‘genocide’ is misused in the Israel-Hamas war

MANY governments and citizens are appalled by the civilian casualties from Israel’s bombardment and invasion of Gaza, which is its response to Hamas’ attack on Israel. On Oct 10 the Palestinian envoy to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, described Israel’s actions as “nothing less than genocidal”. Iran and Iraq have also accused Israel of genocide. Politically, it is clear why Israel’s enemies should invoke the heinous crime. But the allegation has also been made by countries that have usually been friendly to Israel. Colombia, Honduras and South Africa have all withdrawn their ambassadors from Israel, accusing its government of committing “genocide”.

Protesters and commentators in the West use the term too. “It is now clear that Israel is engaging in a genocide of the Palestinian people,” argued M Muhannad Ayyash, a professor of sociology at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Canada. Craig Mokhiber, director of the New York office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, wrote on Oct 28 that “This is a text-book case of genocide”.

Israel has both denied genocide and accused Hamas of the crime. Gilad Erdan, Israel’s permanent representative to the UN, said on Oct 26 that “This is not a war with the Palestinians. Israel is at war with the genocidal Hamas terrorist organisation”.