Analyzing the Role of Motive in Establishing Special Intent in the Crime of Genocide

(Case Study: The Situation in Gaza after 7 October 2023)

Abstract

Background and Objective: Genocide, as one of the gravest international crimes, requires the establishment of a specific intent (*dolus specialis*) to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group—an element whose proof in practice entails serious difficulties. One of the fundamental challenges in this regard concerns the status and function of the perpetrators’ declared or inferred motives in the process of inferring specific intent. Focusing on the situation in Gaza after 7 October 2023, this study seeks to analyze the role of motive in establishing specific intent in the crime of genocide.

Method: This research employs a doctrinal method in international criminal law, combined with qualitative content analysis of official reports issued by United Nations–affiliated bodies, including Special Rapporteurs, as well as documents submitted to the International Court of Justice, within the framework of a case study. Owing to their high standards of documentation and relative impartiality, the data used enable a more precise analysis of the mental element of the crime of genocide.

Findings: The findings indicate that motive, as an evidentiary indicator, may be taken into account within the analysis of the mental element, particularly specific intent. Examination of patterns of conduct, official statements by authorities, and the persistence of violent acts against the civilian population in Gaza suggests that motives inferred from such conduct, alongside other evidence, have the capacity to strengthen the inference of genocidal specific intent.

Conclusion: The results demonstrate that a systematic and cautious use of motive as a judicial presumption—while maintaining its conceptual distinction from specific intent—can substantially mitigate existing evidentiary gaps in proving the crime of genocide in international judicial practice and contribute to the further development of judicial analyses in this field.