By Catherine Salgado, PJ Media.
Four hundred and twenty genocide scholars, survivors, and experts signed a statement affirming that Hamas, not Israel, is guilty of the crime of genocide. The experts also criticized their fellow scholars who falsely accused Israel of genocide in Gaza.
Scholars for Truth About Genocide (STAG) condemned the inaccurate accusations of the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) against Israel. While IAGS asserted Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, STAG explained why this is false. “Genocide is the gravest offense known to humankind; to dilute its legal standards for ideological ends is a form of moral violence,” STAG declared. “It dishonors the memory of past victims, misleads the public about present atrocities, and obstructs efforts to avert future ones.”
Israel will even endanger its own men, sometimes leading to their deaths, trying to avoid killing civilians in Gaza, even though a majority of Gazans support jihad against Israel. In contrast, Hamas brutally rapes and murders Israelis of all ages while the Palestinian Authority financially rewards them.
The statement’s title is “Legal, antisemitism, history, Holocaust, and genocide scholars, former prosecutors, and other authorities, including descendants of survivors, call on International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) to retract resolution accusing Israel of genocide amid clear misapplication of law and history.” Here is the key passage from the STAG experts’ statement:
On October 7, 2023, Hamas invaded Israel and acted with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, Jews and Israelis, as a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group, as such. Further, Hamas and their allied organizations took innocent people hostage and continue to hold hostages.
Thus, Hamas committed the crime of genocide and remains the only party to legally meet the requirements of the elements of the crime of genocide.
Mosab Hassan Yousef, son of a Hamas co-founder, previously echoed this sentiment.