Senior EU Official Labels Israel’s Assault on Gaza “Genocide”
Paris (Quds News Network)- European Commission Vice President Teresa Ribera has called Israel’s war on Gaza a “genocide,” becoming the first member of the Commission to publicly use this term.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the academic year at the Sciences Po university in Paris, Ribera said, “The genocide in Gaza exposes Europe’s failure to act and speak with one voice, even as protests spread across European cities and 14 UN Security Council members call for an immediate ceasefire.”
Ribera, the European Commission’s second-most senior official after President Ursula von der Leyen, said in August that Israel’s war in Gaza looks “very much like genocide”, but stopped short of declaring it one.
Her statements went further than the European Commission, which has accused Israel of violating human rights in Gaza, but stopped short of accusing it of genocide.
There has been growing pressure within the EU against Israel over its ongoing assault in Gaza, where over 60,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023.
European nations like Ireland, the Netherlands and Spain have increasingly called for the EU’s ties with Israel to be reassessed in the wake of the war in Gaza.
The EU’s association agreement with Israel is a framework for trade and political relations. The bloc is Israel’s largest trading partner, accounting for nearly a third of Israel’s global trade, according to EU data.
The calls for suspending the deal come as a number of countries have announced they will recognise the State of Palestine in response to Israel’s continuing onslaught on Gaza and blockade.
