Gaza genocide recognition

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Since October 2023, the government of Israel has been accused of committing genocide against the Palestinian population of the Gaza Strip by several states across the world. The government of South Africa formally accused the country of genocide in December that year in a case before the International Court of Justice, with 14 countries joining the case by December the next year.[1] Explicit state positions on the genocide include recognition, denial, or deferral to the ultimate result of the pending case. Acts of genocide recognition in particular include acknowledgement of genocide in the adoption of laws, parliamentary resolutions, and official speeches.[2] Some countries have been described as silent regarding the matter.

Positions of national governments on whether Israel is committing genocide in the Gaza war
  Agree
  Disagree
  Unclear
  Defer to the International Court of Justice's ruling in the Gaza genocide case
  No data

National governments

Legislatures

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Executive officials of current governments

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Executive officials of former governments

  • Kakar caretaker government (Pakistan): Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani condemned Israel's airstrikes on Gaza and siege of the territory as genocide in October 2023.[142]
  • Sunak ministry (UK): The Foreign Office dismissed the accusation of genocide against Israel in January 2024.[143]
  • Raisi government (Iran): Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian condemned Israel's actions as genocide in October 2023.[144] During a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in December 2023, President Ebrahim Raisi described the war in Gaza as "genocide and a crime against humanity" and accused Western countries of supporting Israel's actions.[145]
  • Third Ould Bilal government (Mauritania): The government condemned Israel's actions in October 2023, and called on the international community to "impose an immediate cessation of the genocide to which the Palestinian people are subjected".[146]
  • Fifth Hasina ministry (Bangladesh): The government backed South Africa's genocide case against Israel in January 2024.[147]
  • Attal government (France): In January 2024, Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné said that accusing Israel of genocide is "to cross a moral threshold", casting doubt on whether France would accept the ICJ's verdict in South Africa v. Israel.[148]
  • Onward Indonesia Cabinet: Speaking before the UN General Assembly on 23 September 2024, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said that "the ongoing genocide by Israel must be stopped immediately".[149]
  • Ba'athist Syria: Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad condemned Israel's actions as genocide in October 2023.[150] During a speech to an Arab–Islamic extraordinary summit in November 2024, President Bashar al-Assad described Israel's actions as "massacres, genocide and ethnic cleansing".[151]
  • Biden administration (US): President Joe Biden and his Secretary of State Antony Blinken dismissed the accusation of genocide against Israel, with Blinken calling it "meritless".[152][153]
  • Third Mikati cabinet (Lebanon): In July 2024, Prime Minister Najib Mikati expressed concern "with the ongoing genocide against the Palestinians, namely in Gaza, based on our Arab identity and national and humanitarian considerations".[154]
  • Presidency of Luis Lacalle Pou (Uruguay): In February 2024, Foreign Minister Omar Paganini stated the government didn't view the situation in Gaza as a genocide, while expressing hope for a peaceful solution to the conflict.[155]
  • Scholz cabinet (Germany): In January 2024 Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that she could not see genocidal intent in "Israel's self-defence against […] Hamas." During a visit to Jerusalem the same month, Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck stated his opinion that, while it is possible to criticize the Israeli army for "acting too harshly" in Gaza, "that does not constitute genocide."[50]
  • Arce cabinet (Bolivia): President Luis Arce tweeted that he agreed with President Lula of Brazil (see above) concerning "the truth about the genocide that is being committed against the brave Palestinian people".[156]
  • Presidency of Michael D. Higgins (Ireland): On 16 September 2025, President Higgins called for the "exclusion [from the United Nations] of those who are practising genocide, and those who are supporting genocide with armaments".[157]
  • Fiala cabinet (Czech Republic): In September 2025 Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský rejected the findings of the UNHRC Commission of Inquiry report released the same month, which concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, as partially "unfounded" and "beyond the pale".[158][159]
  • Presidency of Xiomara Castro (Honduras): In a speech before the UN General Assembly on 25 September 2024, President Castro called for "an end to the genocide in Gaza".[160]
  • Supreme leadership of Ali Khamenei (Iran): On 17 October 2023, Supreme Leader Khamenei stated that "the world is witnessing the Zionist regime's genocide of Palestinians in Gaza" during a ceremony attended by students in Tehran, which was also marked by chants of "death to Israel".[161]
  • Presidency of Gabriel Boric (Chile): In a speech before the UN General Assembly on 25 September 2024, President Boric condemned both Hamas and Israel's actions in Gaza, saying he refuses to choose between "the terrorism of Hamas and the genocide that Israel is carrying out in Palestine".[162]

Governments described as silent on the matter

Subnational governments

Belgium

Italy

  • Apulia: In a statement from May 2025, Regional President Michele Emiliano announced the region would sever all ties with the Israeli government due to the "ongoing genocide of defenseless Palestinians".[168]
  • Sardinia: In September 2025 Regional President Alessandra Todde stated that a genocide was ongoing in Gaza, while also calling on the Italian government to have "the courage […] to understand what is happening and to call things by their name".[169]
  • Tuscany: In a speech in August 2025, commemorating the Sant'Anna di Stazzema massacre committed by the Waffen-SS during World War II, Regional President Eugenio Giani drew parallels to "genocide and war crimes […] committed today, like those by the Netanyahu government in the Gaza Strip".[170]

Netherlands

  • Utrecht: In May 2025, the city council of Utrecht passed a motion describing the situation in Gaza as a genocide, in line with reports from Amnesty International and the UN.[171]

Portugal

Spain

  • Andalusia: In an exchange in the Parliament of Andalusia in September 2025, President Juanma Moreno stated he did recognize that genocide was being perpetrated in Gaza, while also accusing other Spanish politicians of using the genocide for political means.[173]
  • Aragon: In September 2025, President Jorge Azcón stated he had "never said [the war in Gaza] isn't genocide", while adding his view that in the future, the International Criminal Court "with near certainty" would rule that genocide is being perpetrated there.[173]
  • Asturias: In a social media post in September 2025, Government President Adrián Barbón expressed condemnation over "the genocide that the State of Israel is committing against the Palestinian people".[174]
  • Basque Country: In September 2025, President Imanol Pradales accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, before a minute of silence in solidarity with the Palestinian people was observed in the Basque Parliament.[175]
  • Castilla–La Mancha: In September 2025, President Emiliano García-Page labelled "what is happening in Gaza […] an outrage, a humanitarian atrocity […] genocide or perhaps extermination".[176]
  • Catalonia: In September 2025, President Salvador Illa asserted that the war in Gaza is a genocide, and that not recognizing it as such amounts to a "denial of reality".[177]
  • Galicia: In September 2025, President Alfonso Rueda, of the People's Party of Galicia, acknowledged that genocide was taking place in Gaza, while also criticizing the opposition parties for not condemning the "killings" committed by Hamas. Rueda was the first regional leader of the People's Party to use the term, which has been avoided by the party's national leadership.[178]
  • Navarre: In May 2025 the regional government requested of WBSC Europe that Israel not be allowed to participate in that year's ESF Junior Girls Championship, which was to be held in Pamplona. President María Chivite stated that her government wouldn't "look the other way" in face of "the genocide that is being committed in the Gaza Strip".[179]

United Kingdom

  • Northern Ireland: In May 2024, the Northern Ireland Assembly voted decisively for a motion which condemned "the ongoing genocide in Gaza that has left more than 35,000 people dead, most of them women and children."[180] In July 2025, Northern Irish First Minister Michelle O'Neill accused Israel of state terrorism and genocide.[181]
  • Scotland: In August 2025, Scottish First Minister John Swinney accused Israel of genocide, saying: "It's quite clear that there is a genocide in Palestine – it can't be disputed."[181] The next month, Swinney announced that the Scottish government would pause public money to arms companies supplying Israel in light of what he called "prima facie evidence" of genocide.[182]

See also

Notes

  1. Foreign minister of the relevant country subscribed to a joint statement of 31 Arab and Islamic countries issued by Qatar in August 2025, which "reiterate[d] their rejection and condemnation of the crimes of Israeli aggression, genocide, and ethnic cleansing".[10]

References

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