The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 has concluded that Israel’s treatment of Palestinians since October 07, 2023, constitutes systematic torture and may amount to genocide under the Genocide Convention. The findings were presented to the 61st session of the UN Human Rights Council in a report titled “Torture and Genocide.”
The report states that torture has become an entrenched component of Israel’s system of domination over Palestinians, affecting men, women, and children.
It documents widespread physical and psychological abuse, including beatings, sexual violence, forced stress positions, deprivation of food and medical care, and prolonged humiliation.
According to the Special Rapporteur, these practices are not isolated violations, but part of a state‑sanctioned, institutionalized system aimed at breaking individuals and communities.
Beyond detention facilities, the report situates torture within a broader framework of policies that inflict long‑term collective harm on Palestinians.
These include mass killings, forced displacement, destruction of homes and infrastructure, starvation, and the denial of basic necessities.
The Rapporteur argues that these practices are designed to destroy the conditions of life for Palestinians, erode social cohesion, and eliminate the possibility of political, cultural, and territorial continuity.
The report concludes that the cumulative effect of these actions meets the threshold of genocide, describing it as the “ultimate form of torture”—ongoing, generational, and collective. It emphasizes that the deliberate destruction of conditions necessary for life constitutes serious bodily and mental harm under Article II of the Genocide Convention
In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group, as such:
- Killing members of the group.
- Inflicting severe physical or psychological harm on individuals belonging to the group.
- Intentionally imposing living conditions designed to cause the group’s physical destruction, whether in whole or in part.
- Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group.
- Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
Original source: United Nations Treaty Collection – Genocide Convention, Article II
In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group, as such:
- Killing members of the group.
- Inflicting severe physical or psychological harm on individuals who belong to the group.
- Intentionally imposing living conditions designed to destroy the group, whether entirely or in part.
- Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group.
- Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
The Special Rapporteur warns that Israel’s detention system has deteriorated into a structure based on humiliation, coercion, and systematic terror, stripping Palestinians not only of their freedom but also of their dignity, identity, and humanity.
The report stresses that these abuses have been politically endorsed, publicly justified, or even celebrated by sectors of Israeli society, demonstrating that they are not aberrations but institutional practices.
The report also highlights the cumulative suffering Palestinians face after detention, including mass killings, mass displacement, destruction of homes and infrastructure, starvation, denial of medical care, and constant exposure to violence and humiliation. These conditions, the Rapporteur argues, amount to a deliberate effort to erase Palestinian existence and violate their right to self‑determination.
The Special Rapporteur calls on Israel to immediately end all acts of torture and ill‑treatment, dismantle its system of apartheid, and end its unlawful presence in the occupied Palestinian territory.
The report urges Israel to grant access to the International Committee of the Red Cross, UN investigative bodies, and independent experts to investigate all alleged violations.
It also calls on UN member states to refrain from complicity in these crimes and to uphold their obligations under international law, including investigating and prosecuting acts of genocide and torture.
The report recommends that the International Criminal Court investigate allegations of genocide, torture, and ill‑treatment and consider issuing arrest warrants for Israeli officials, including Itamar Ben‑Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, as well as senior military and prison officials responsible for detention centers.
