The People's Party (PP) continues to resist classifying the massacre in Gaza as a genocide, despite the fact that international pressure against Israel is increasing while Benjamin Netanyahu's government has launched a ground offensive to take Gaza City. PP parliamentary spokesperson Ester Muñoz on Tuesday dismissed the report by the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, which for the first time describes the massacre in Palestine as a"genocide." "It is not up to me, the UN, or the Prime Minister to decide what is or is not a genocide. The International Criminal Court establishes that," she argued. When the Hague tribunal issues a ruling, she clarified,"the PP will respect the judicial decisions," but until then, although it could take years, the People's Party (PP) will not. Muñoz argued that"what is happening [in the Gaza Strip] is much more complex" than whether or not to describe it with that legal qualification.
The PP spokesperson has complained about the repeated questions on this matter, arguing that"the government needs to talk about this" and downplayed the importance of the UN commission of human rights experts, stressing that it is made up of"three people." The 72-page report, prepared by this commission established in 2021 by the UN Human Rights Council, investigates information related to Israeli military attacks in the Strip up to July 31 of this year and concludes that Israel's massacre in Gaza meets four of the five criteria set forth in the definition of genocide contained in the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of this Crime.
“I understand that the government wants it to be genocide, yes or no. But we're talking about complex issues. There are crimes against humanity, etc. The government, to polarize and divide, asks simple questions: genocide or no genocide.” The Popular Party complains that Pedro Sánchez, in their opinion, is politically using the conflict in Gaza as a smokescreen to steer public conversation and prevent discussion of their internal problems. “Perhaps, if he truly wanted to help the Gazan people, and not use them as an electoral shield, the president would be holding meetings with his European counterparts to see how to persuade Israel to do things differently. But we're not trying to help them, we're using them. Sánchez uses them, but he's not trying to end the conflict,” he complained.
The PP also accuses the progressive government of"fueling violence to cover up its judicial week" during the pro-Palestinian protests at the Vuelta a España on Sunday, according to Alicia García, the PP spokesperson in the Senate, during the control session. The PP senator maintains that the State Security Forces were sent"hand and foot tied against the violent protesters" at the finish of the Vuelta a España. According to Amnesty International,"the protest action was eminently peaceful" and "actions of civil disobedience, such as blocking streets, do not constitute violent acts." In contrast, the PP has insisted on describing the protesters at the Vuelta a España as"pro-Palestinian violent protesters who were linked to Hamas," according to Senator María José Pardo.
The Minister of the Presidency, Félix Bolaños, has urged the PP spokesperson to clarify"who the PP is with: with those who commit the extermination and kill 20,000 children [in Gaza] or with the victims?"
The leader of the People's Party (PP), Alberto Núñez Feijóo, called the massacre in Gaza"unacceptable," but stopped short of calling it genocide. The PP believes it's not useful to do so and points out that the European Union has yet to designate it as such.
For the PP spokesperson in Congress, the conflict in Gaza shouldn't be the focus of the news because Spaniards have bigger problems."With everything that's happening in this country, people not knowing how to pay for school uniforms and books, not being able to afford housing... With everything that's happening, the problem is a conflict that's been going on for two years!" she complained."And now they'll say I have no soul. It's so irresponsible, so frivolous, so simplistic!"
