3. Crimes against humanity (underlying crimes)
Extermination, and other inhumane acts
47. The Commission considered (i) the large number of victims killed; (ii) the methods used by the Israeli forces to target the civilian population (through the firing of live ammunition and airstrikes); (iii) the locations of the killings (densely populated areas); and (iv) the remarks and statements of the Israeli authorities, and finds that the cases it investigated and documented show a pattern where civilians in the West Bank were intentionally and directly targeted and killed by the Israeli soldiers on a mass scale since 7 October 2023. The Commission finds that, together with the mass killings by the Israeli forces, settler violence constitutes a component of the attack against this civilian population. Conduct of Israeli authorities indicate that they knew and intended settler violence to be part of the attack. The Commission concludes that the Israeli authorities and security forces have committed the crime against humanity of extermination against the civilian population in the West Bank since 7 October 2023.
48. The Commission’s findings on extermination apply equally to the crime against humanity of other inhumane acts. The Commission concludes that the Israeli authorities and forces have committed the crime against humanity of other inhumane acts, in particular causing serious injury to body and to mental or physical health against the civilian population in the West Bank since 7 October 2023.
Torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence
49. The Commission finds that investigated cases of torture, reproductive violence, rape and other forms of sexual violence of comparable gravity were not isolated incidents. Rather, these acts form part of the broader attack directed against the civilian population. Furthermore, the Commission finds that the Israeli authorities support and encourage such acts. The Commission therefore concludes that the Israeli authorities and security forces have committed the crimes against humanity of torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence of comparable gravity against the civilian population.