Israel committing genocide in Gaza, says top legal scholar Melanie O'Brien

The head of the world's largest academic association on genocide has declared Israel's actions in Gaza a genocide.

Dr Melanie O'Brien, president of the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS), outlined her legal opinion in an interview with Middle East Eye, ahead of an upcoming episode of the Expert Witness podcast featuring leading genocide experts.  

"Applying the legal definitions of genocide as found in the Genocide Convention and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, I would determine that what is happening in Gaza constitutes genocide," O'Brien said.

"The definition involves acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. These include killing or imposing conditions meant to bring about physical destruction," she explained, referring to the definition of genocide under the Genocide Convention. 

"What we are witnessing fits within that legal definition."

Read more: Israel committing genocide in Gaza, says top legal scholar Melanie O'Brien