Wikipedia Describes Israel’s War on Gaza as ‘Genocide’

Gaza, MINA – Wikipedia has decided to rename the page initially titled ‘Genocide allegations in the 2023 Israeli assault on Gaza’ to simply ‘Gaza Genocide’.

This change follows a community vote among contributors to the free, open-content online encyclopedia, which is written and edited by an international body of volunteers, Palestine Chronicle reported on Friday.

Drawing on expert opinions, Wikipedia editors, determined there was enough evidence from scholars and human rights organizations, like Amnesty International, to substantiate the term “genocide” in the page title.

Though this change does not hold legal significance, it could impact global public opinion culturally and politically.

The updated ‘Gaza Genocide’ article references nearly 800 sources, including human rights and field reports. Among these, several reports come from The Palestine Chronicle’s coverage of the war.

Additionally, the page highlights references made by Israeli politicians, such as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s invocation of the ‘Amalekites’ from biblical texts, stirring further discourse on Israel’s intentions.

Translated into 16 languages, including Arabic, Turkish, French, Spanish, Chinese, and Indonesian, the page begins by noting that “experts, governments, UN agencies, and NGOs have accused Israel of committing genocide against the Palestinian people in the ongoing war.”

It features perspectives from notable figures, including Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian Territories, who points to statements from Israeli officials that suggest an “intent to destroy” Gaza’s population—an essential condition in genocide classification under the 1948 Genocide Convention.

The page elaborates on the Genocide Convention’s criteria, listing acts like killing group members, causing severe harm, imposing destructive conditions, preventing births, and forcibly transferring children. Genocide is described as a targeted crime with specific intent, and cases like those in Cambodia, Rwanda, and Bosnia have led to ICC prosecutions. (T/RE1/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)