BRUSSELS (Reuters) -A senior European Union official said on Thursday that Israel’s operations in Gaza constitute genocide, the first member of the bloc’s commission to make that charge.
“The genocide in Gaza exposes Europe’s failure to act and speak with one voice, even as protests spread across European cities and 14 U.N. Security Council members call for an immediate ceasefire,” Teresa Ribera said at the opening ceremony of the academic year at the Sciences Po university in Paris.
Israel has repeatedly rejected accusations of carrying out genocide in its war in Gaza. Israel’s mission to the EU did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ribera is the European Commission’s Executive Vice President, second only in seniority to President Ursula von der Leyen. The Spanish socialist, whose portfolio includes climate and anti-trust issues, is not responsible for EU foreign policy.
The comments were stronger than a statement she gave last month when she said the displacement and killing in Gaza looked “very much like” genocide.
The European Commission has accused Israel of violating human rights in Gaza, but stopped short of accusing it of genocide.
South Africa has brought a case at the International Court of Justice in the Hague accusing Israel of genocide. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has condemned that as “outrageous”.
On Monday, the president of the world’s largest academic association of genocide scholars announced that the association had passed a resolution affirming that the legal criteria have been met to determine that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry called that statementdisgraceful.
The current war began on October 7, 2023, when gunmen led by Hamas attacked southern Israeli communities near the border, killing some 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and taking 251 hostages, including children, into Gaza, according to Israeli figures.
More than 62,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s air and ground war in Gaza since then, according to Gaza health officials, who do not say how many were militants but have said most of those killed have been women and children.
(Reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout, Editing by Andrew Heavens)
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