The United Nations special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories argues, in her report released today, that there are “good reasons” to believe that the Israel committed many “acts of genocide”, even speaking of “ethnic cleansing”.

“The type and overwhelming scale of the Israeli assault on Gaza and the disastrous living conditions it has caused reveal an intent to physically destroy the Palestiniansas a group,” says Francesca Albanese in the report she will present tomorrow at the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

The report, titled “Anatomy of a Genocide”, concludes that “there are good reasons to believe that we have reached the threshold” showing that “genocidal acts against the Palestinians in Gaza” have been committed. In its conclusions it lists three acts of genocide: “murder of members of a group, serious injury to the physical or mental integrity of the members of the group, and intentional subjection of the group to conditions intended to completely or partially destroy it physically.”

These are three of the five acts of genocide included in the Convention on the Prevention and Suppression of the Crime of Genocide.

The Israeli delegation to the United Nations in Geneva “completely rejected the report,” saying in a statement that it was part of “the campaign to undermine the very foundation of the Jewish state.”

“Israel’s war is against Hamas, not against Palestinian civilians,” he added.