Is Israel's war in the Gaza Strip a genocide against the Palestinian population? The debate has flared up again, including within the EU Commission, which has distanced itself from a statement made by its Vice President.
The EU Commission's statement was cautious: In connection with Israel's military actions in the Gaza Strip, the Commission will not speak of genocide for the time being, a statement from Brussels today said. And: The EU Commission has no position on the issue of genocide. It is up to the courts to decide on this, a spokeswoman explained.
This leaves room for interpretation, but clearly contradicts the position expressed on Thursday by Commission Vice-President and Competition Commissioner Teresa Ribera.
In a speech at the elite Parisian university Sciences Po, Ribera said the"genocide in Gaza" exposed "Europe's failure" to act together and speak with one voice. Ribera is one of six vice-presidents of the European Commission. She has previously called for EU action against Israel over its actions in the Gaza Strip.
Outrage in Israel and Germany
The EU is divided on the issue. While some member states support Ribera's position, others advocate supporting Israel in its war against the terrorist militia Hamas.
Ribera's statement sparked outrage in Israel. A spokesperson for the Israeli Foreign Ministry dismissed the statement as baseless and unacceptable, accusing Ribera of becoming"a mouthpiece for Hamas propaganda."
UN Convention on Genocide
The United Nations (UN) Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide refers to the deliberate persecution of population groups that differ from others in terms of language, religion, and tradition - with the aim of destroying that group in whole or in part.
In addition to killing, this includes measures that cause serious physical or psychological harm, as well as the imposition of living conditions on the group that could lead to physical destruction.
The UN Convention also classifies as genocide the deliberate prevention of births or the abduction of children. Even though the term"genocide" evokes the murder of millions, the number of victims is irrelevant according to the UN Convention. By ratifying the Convention, UN members have committed themselves to preventing and punishing crimes of this kind.
The Convention entered into force in 1951 as a result of the Holocaust perpetrated by Nazi Germany, which claimed the lives of up to six million Jews.
"One-sided and inappropriate"
CSU regional group leader Alexander Hoffmann expressed similar sentiments."The EU Vice President's statements are one-sided and inappropriate, and they play into the hands of Hamas terrorists," the chairman of the CSU parliamentary group told the dpa news agency.
One could criticize Israel's actions in Gaza, but not in this form and not without naming Hamas as the trigger of this terrible spiral of violence, Hoffmann added. Hamas has the power to finally put an end to this war, which it itself unleashed in the most brutal way, by releasing the hostages.
Ribera sees Europe's failure
With her comments on the EU's inability to act, Ribera alluded to the fact that, despite the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, EU member states have so far been unable to agree on a punitive measure against Israel proposed by the EU Commission. This envisages a suspension of cooperation within the framework of the Horizon Europe research funding program.
The proposal is based on an analysis by the EU Commission, according to which Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip and the resulting humanitarian catastrophe violate human rights and international humanitarian law. This violates a fundamental principle of cooperation between the EU and Israel under the existing Association Agreement, the text states. It also explicitly mentions thousands of civilian deaths and a rapidly increasing number of cases of extreme malnutrition, especially among children.
