Pope Francis mentions for the first time accusations of “genocide” in Gaza pointing to Israel and calls for an investigation, in his book about to be published Hope never disappoints and of which several fragments were released on Sunday in Italy
Text: RFI
“What is happening in Gaza, which according to some experts seems to have the characteristics of a genocide, should be carefully investigated to determine if it falls within the technical definition maintained by jurists and international organizations,” the Pope believes.
These statements are excerpts from the Argentine pontiff’s new book, “Hope never disappoints,” which will be released on Tuesday in Italy, Spain and South America, and which the newspaper La Stampa published on Sunday.
The Argentine pontiff often refers to the extermination of Jews during the Second World War, the “genocide” of the Armenians under the Ottoman Empire, of the Tutsis in Rwanda or of Christians in the Middle East. Francis frequently laments the civilian victims in Gaza but this is the first time he has publicly used the term genocide in the context of Israeli military operations in the Palestinian territory.
A special UN committee published a report on Thursday in which it estimates that the methods of war used by Israel “correspond to the characteristics of a genocide.”
The report of this special UN committee, created in 1968 and in charge of investigating Israeli practices in the occupied Palestinian Territories, will be presented on Monday at the UN General Assembly in New York. The United States expressed disagreement with the committee’s conclusion.
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