BREAKING: UN Commission Concludes Israel is Committing Genocide in Gaza
On Tuesday, in a groundbreaking new report, the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory officially concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. This comes ahead of the members of the commission stepping down later this year, after announcing their resignations this summer amid the US’s escalating attacks on UN personnel.“The Commission concludes that the State of Israel bears responsibility for the failure to prevent genocide, the commission of genocide, and the failure to punish genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip,” the report says.In this exclusive interview, Mehdi speaks with two of the commissioners behind this report: Chair Navi Pillay of South Africa and commissioner Chris Sidoti, one of Australia’s most prominent human rights lawyers.In the interview, Pillay – who previously served as president of the UN’s International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda – immediately draws parallels between genocide in Gaza and the Rwandan genocide.“It’s when I came to the deliberate shooting of the single standing building where the fertility clinic was and the embryos. That immediately reminded me of the Rwanda genocide where I was a judge and where they ripped the bellies of pregnant women, pulled out the fetuses because they wanted to kill off the entire Tutsi group,” Pillay recounts.Pillay and Sidoti also both point out that unlike the Rwandan genocide, Palestinians in Gaza do not have neighboring countries they can escape to.“There is nowhere that the people of Gaza can go to escape this slaughter,” Sidoti tells Mehdi. “And yet the slaughter has continued.”The commissioners also address criticism that their report does not cover Hamas’s war crimes, with Pillay noting that the commission has addressed Hamas’s war crimes in previous reports.“It doesn't mean to me that every time you have to strike some kind of balance as if the parties are equal,” she explains. “They are not equal. One is the occupier and the other is occupied.”You can watch the full interview above to hear Mehdi press the commissioners on why it has taken almost two years for them to declare that Israel is committing a genocide, and why Israel prevented their commission from investigating claims of rape and sexual violence from both sides. He also asks whether they fear retaliation from the US for their report, after the Trump administration’s sanctioning of ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan and UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese.If you’re not a paid subscriber, please do consider upgrading your subscription today and supporting independent journalism. Check out Zeteo’s other stories from this week: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit zeteo.com/subscribe
--------
31:19
--------
31:19
Is Syria Heading for Democracy or Another Dictatorship?
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit zeteo.comIn this week’s episode of Mehdi Unfiltered, Mehdi is joined by Syrian official Qutaiba Idlbi, who discusses Al-Sharaa’s upcoming appearance at the United Nations, responds to Israel’s relentless assault on Syria, and defends the new Syrian government’s track record. SUBSCRIBE TO ZETEO TO SUPPORT INDEPENDENT AND UNFILTERED JOURNALISM: https://zeteo.com/subscribeWATCH ‘MEHDI UNFILTERED’ ON SUBSTACK: https://zeteo.com/s/mehdi-unfilteredFIND ZETEO:Twitter: https://twitter.com/zeteo_newsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/zeteonewsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@zeteonewsFIND MEHDI:Substack: https://substack.com/@mehdirhasanTwitter: https://twitter.com/@mehdirhasanInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/@mehdirhasanTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mehdirhasan
--------
34:43
--------
34:43
‘Dying in Silence’: Why Has the World Forgotten the Sudan Genocide?
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit zeteo.comIn this week’s episode of Mehdi Unfiltered, Mehdi is joined by Sudan experts Nesrine Malik and Neimat Ahmadi to discuss the dire situation in Sudan. SUBSCRIBE TO ZETEO TO SUPPORT INDEPENDENT AND UNFILTERED JOURNALISM: https://zeteo.com/subscribeWATCH ‘MEHDI UNFILTERED’ ON SUBSTACK: https://zeteo.com/s/mehdi-unfilteredFIND ZETEO:Twitter: https://twitter.com/zeteo_newsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/zeteonewsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@zeteonewsFIND MEHDI:Substack: https://substack.com/@mehdirhasanTwitter: https://twitter.com/@mehdirhasanInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/@mehdirhasanTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mehdirhasan
--------
25:28
--------
25:28
'They Will Manufacture a Crisis': Keith Ellison on How Trump Plans to Stay Beyond 2028
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit zeteo.comIn this week’s episode of Mehdi Unfiltered, Mehdi is joined by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who calls Trump’s presidency a ‘fascist authoritarian takeover’ and reveals what he will do if the president tries to send the military to Minneapolis.SUBSCRIBE TO ZETEO TO SUPPORT INDEPENDENT AND UNFILTERED JOURNALISM: https://zeteo.com/subscribeWATCH ‘MEHDI UNFILTERED’ ON SUBSTACK: https://zeteo.com/s/mehdi-unfilteredFIND ZETEO:Twitter: https://twitter.com/zeteo_newsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/zeteonewsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@zeteonewsFIND MEHDI:Substack: https://substack.com/@mehdirhasanTwitter: https://twitter.com/@mehdirhasanInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/@mehdirhasanTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mehdirhasan
--------
30:47
--------
30:47
‘Your Apologies Are Worthless’: Mehdi Clashes With Ex-Israeli Ambassador Danny Ayalon
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit zeteo.comIn one of Zeteo’s most heated back-and-forth interviews yet, Mehdi presses former Israeli ambassador to the US Danny Ayalon on how on earth he can possibly try and defend Israel’s heinous actions in Gaza.