WORLD NEWS FOR MONTENEGRO DIASPORA
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AUTHOR:M.J. GDNUS
The European Union’s top executive has said that the displacement and killings in Gaza are very similar to genocide, marking the first time a commissioner has made such a charge and publicly distanced herself from the EU’s official policy on the conflict.
“If it is not genocide, then it is very similar to the definition used to describe it,” Teresa Ribera, a vice president of the European Commission, said in an interview with Politico published today.
Israel has repeatedly denied accusations that it is carrying out genocide in the Gaza war. Israel’s mission to the EU did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ribera is the executive vice president of the European Commission, second only to President Ursula von der Leyen. The Spanish Socialist, whose portfolio includes climate and competition issues, is not responsible for EU foreign policy.
“What we are seeing is that a certain population is being targeted, killed and starved to death,” Ribera told Politico.
Her comments go beyond the official position of the European Commission, which has accused Israel of human rights violations in Gaza but stopped short of accusing it of genocide.
The commission last week proposed restricting Israel’s access to a major EU research program, following calls from several member states to increase pressure on Israel to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in the enclave.
In its proposal, the commission said Israel had violated a human rights clause in the agreement governing relations with the EU.
“With its intervention in the Gaza Strip and the resulting humanitarian catastrophe, including thousands of civilian casualties and a rapidly increasing number of cases of severe malnutrition, especially among children, Israel is violating human rights and humanitarian law,” the document states.
Israel has been defending itself against accusations of genocide, including a lawsuit filed by South Africa at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called “outrageous.”
The war broke out when Hamas-led militants attacked Israeli communities and military bases near Gaza on October 7, 2023. About 1,200 people were killed, including more than 700 civilians, and 251 people were taken hostage in Gaza.
The Israeli military response has hit the small and overcrowded enclave hard, killing more than 61,000 people, mostly civilians, according to Palestinian health authorities.
Israel claims its actions in Gaza are justified as an act of self-defense and accuses Hamas of using civilians as human shields, a charge the militant group denies.
