• Official sees no change in Israeli behavior 'the way we would expect it to' as killings and denial of aid continue

GENEVA

The United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel will continue its investigations regardless of political obstacles or lack of immediate action on its findings, newly appointed chair Srinivasan Muralidhar has said.

“I think as a commission of inquiry, we should continue doing our work of investigation, regardless of what the world community does with these findings that we've come up with,” Muralidhar told Anadolu in an interview. He described the commission’s role as documenting violations that will endure beyond the present moment.

“I see the significance of this work as documentation of human rights violations, and which will be a very important resource for future generations.”

Asked whether he had seen any progress in the situation since the commission’s most recent report, he said that while such findings are often expected to trigger immediate action, the absence of swift political follow-up should not undermine the commission's mandate.

"Merely because it is not for a variety of factors, should not deter us,” he said, noting that the work has already “fed into some of the adjudicatory mechanisms, whether it's the ICJ (International Court of Justice) or ICC (International Criminal Court).”

Formed in 2021, the inquiry commission has been investigating international crimes, violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of international human rights law committed in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

In September 2025, the commission concluded in its report that Israel committed genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Its next reports are to be presented to the Human Rights Council at its 62nd session in June 2026, and to the General Assembly at its 81st session in October.

Separate proceedings on Israel's conduct in Gaza, where it killed more than 71,000 people over two years starting in October 2023, continue at the ICJ and ICC, both based in The Hague, Netherlands.

No behavioral change by Israel

Still, Muralidhar said, there was no change in Israel's conduct, given the continued killings of Palestinians and the ongoing denial of humanitarian aid in Gaza.

"I don't see the behavior having changed the way we would expect it to," he said. "Because I think the killing of Palestinians in the occupied territories continues, the denial of aid to those in badly need of it continues, and I don't think the provisional measures put in place by the ICJ's orders have been really implemented."

South Africa filed a case at the ICJ in late 2023, accusing Israel of failing to uphold its commitments under the 1948 Genocide Convention during its war in Gaza, which came to a halt in October 2025. While the final verdict could take years, the World Court issued three preliminary orders to alleviate humanitarian suffering in the blockaded enclave.

He voiced hope that with the second phase of the peace plan, proposed by US President Donald Trump, and with different actors having entered the scene, "maybe the attitude ... would change."

After two years of investigations into events since Oct. 7, 2023, the commission had found that Israeli authorities committed "four of the five" genocidal acts under the 1948 Genocide Convention and that they were carried out "with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as a group."

"The Commission finds that Israel is responsible for the commission of genocide in Gaza," said Navi Pillay, then-chair of the commission, adding that Israel has "flagrantly disregarded the orders for provisional measures from the International Court of Justice" and "had no intention to change their course of actions."

New chair already contacted Israel

As access to Gaza and the West Bank remains a central challenge, Muralidhar said that shortly after assuming his role he renewed formal requests to visit the territories.

"One of the first things I did was to write off a letter to the permanent mission for Israel here (Geneva)," he said, noting that earlier requests had gone unanswered.

Still, he remains hopeful that evolving dynamics around a proposed peace plan could open doors. He said his letter was sent to the Israeli side "sometime last month."

"I'm sanguine that ... we will be provided access to those territories where we can speak to the people directly and to the authorities also, and gather evidence in the way it should be."

Asked what he expects from the second phase of the ceasefire after widespread violations during the first phase, Muralidhar said countries must adhere to international human rights law and existing treaty obligations.

"I would simply like the countries who have ratified all these treaties to respect the spirit and the object of those treaties," he said. He stressed the need to restore the rule of law and ensure accountability through timely mechanisms, warning that delayed justice undermines its purpose.

"Doing justice 10 years down the line, 15 years down the line, is no justice at all," he warned. "The quicker we act, the quicker we get our act together and put in place these mechanisms, the better for all of us."

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, at least 484 people have been killed and 1,321 others injured since the fragile truce.

The second phase of the agreement includes the disarmament of Hamas and other Palestinian factions, a further withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and the launch of reconstruction efforts, which the UN estimates will cost about $70 billion.

Plans closer look at settler violence in West Bank

Muralidhar said settler violence in the West Bank continues unabated, and the commission continues to receive a large number of reports. "Settler violence is very much on," he said.

He stressed that the issue has not yet been examined systematically due to resource constraints, despite being part of the commission’s mandate. "Having said that the reports already produced do make incidental references to settler violence, though not direct references."

Muralidhar said the commission plans to address settler violence more directly in reports to be presented later this year.

He added that the commission’s work is not confined to a specific timeframe. "This commission's work is not really limited by chronology of events," he said. "We look into past events, we look into current events, and we'll look into events as they happen."

For the months ahead, he said his priorities are clear: access, listening to victims, and urgent humanitarian needs.

"Field visits are very important … there's nothing like speaking to the people themselves," Muralidhar said. He added that medical relief and aid to children, women, and all those suffering should be treated as urgent.

Muralidhar said the commission hopes human rights violations like those seen in Palestine will not continue and that the rule of law can be restored, despite the challenges.

He said the commission wants people who are suffering to know that their experiences are being documented, and that there are those committed to speaking up for them and pursuing justice.