Scholars have warned over the years that the siege of Gaza may amount to a “ prelude to genocide” or a “ slow-motion genocide”. The pre-existing conditions in the Gaza Strip had already prompted discussions of genocide prior to the current escalation – such as by the National Lawyers Guild in 2014, the Russell Tribunal on Palestine in 2014, and the Center for Constitutional Rights in 2016. We do not do so lightly, recognising the weight of this crime, but the gravity of the current situation demands it. Public Statement: Scholars Warn of Potential Genocide in GazaĪs scholars and practitioners of international law, conflict studies and genocide studies, we are compelled to sound the alarm about the possibility of the crime of genocide being perpetrated by Israeli forces against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The text of the statement and list of signatures (updated on 20 October 2023) is below, and a pdf version can be accessed here. Signatories include prominent Holocaust and genocide studies scholars, as well as many international law and TWAIL scholars. On 15 October 2023, over 800 scholars and practitioners of international law, conflict studies and genocide studies signed a public statement warning of the possibility of genocide being perpetrated by Israeli forces against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
