French expert calls accusations of ‘genocide’ in Gaza anti-Israeli propaganda

A French-Catholic priest and pioneering genocide researcher condemned accusations of “genocide” against Israel as propaganda following his visit to the devastated Gaza border communities on the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 mass terror attack in Israel.

Father Patrick Desbois is an internationally acclaimed expert on genocide, including the Holocaust. In 2008, he published, “The Holocaust by Bullets: A Priest’s Journey to Uncover the Truth Behind the Murder of 1.5 Million Jews,” which has become a seminal work on the hundreds of "open-air" massacres that the Nazis committed in Eastern Europe.

“I think the accusation of genocide is [anti-Israel] propaganda. Why does nobody ask if Bashar Assad in Damascus has committed genocide against his own people,” Desbois said, referring to the Syrian regime leader.

Desbois also said he was outraged by the allegations.

Earlier, in December, Desbois told Israel's i24 news outlet that the international community wouldn't care about the Palestinians if there were no Jews in Israel.

“I always say: if there were no Jews in Israel, few people would look out for the Palestinians,” Desbois said. “If he had lived in 1942, Jesus would have been deported to Auschwitz, and if he had been born today, he would be the target of missiles or be a hostage in Gaza,” he added.

Desbois is well-known for exposing the names of mass murderers – from SS officers who committed a “Holocaust by bullets” in Eastern Europe and Islamic State members who perpetrated the genocide against the Yazidis.

For instance, he has identified 30 mass graves of murdered Yazidis, with the evidence gathered used to prosecute some perpetrators who returned to Europe. His organization, "Yahad-In Unum" (Together in One), has interviewed 450 Yazidi refugees, and with his expertise, he draws comparisons between Islamic State terrorists and the Nazis.

“[The militants] come back now [to Europe] and say they did nothing like the Nazis did [after the Holocaust],” he said.

Based on his 25 years of experience, Desbois urged the Israeli government to prosecute the Hamas terrorists and other Palestinians who took part in the Oct. 7 attack. He also believes Israeli officials should identify and name perpetrators in public forums and examine the motivations of bystanders and eyewitnesses to the atrocities.

“We have to show the crimes, but we [also] have to name the criminals,” he said. “Without criminals, you have no crimes.”

Desbois said one of the most disturbing visits he made was to Kibbutz Be’eri, where 132 Israelis were murdered. There was graffiti with the slogan, “Death to the Jews.” Under the spray-painted words, the terrorist had signed his name, “Abu Ali.”  

“He signed it,” said Desbois, referring to the terrorist. “These people will be well-known in their families for generations for killing Jews,” he said, adding that through their use of social media Hamas “advertised a lot of what they did, and they showed it was easy to do it. There were large celebrations in Istanbul and Baghdad. Ideology is destroying the brains of people who do it. They think it’s a holy duty to kill Jews.”

Desbois, who works closely with Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust Museum, said that he would like to return to Israel to investigate Hamas’ murder of Bedouin Israelis on Oct. 7.

“Fifty of them died that day. Hamas is killing not just the Jews,” he stated.