The European Union’s No. 2 official suggested that Israel’s war in Gaza “looks very much” like “genocide,” the single strongest condemnation of Israel by a senior EU official since the conflict started.
Speaking with Politico, European Commission Executive Vice President Teresa Ribera upped the ante in the diplomatic standoff over Gaza by coming within a hair’s breadth of accusing Israel of the cardinal sin of human rights. Israel’s current actions taken against Gaza, she argued, either constitute or toe a very thin line between genocide and other crimes against humanity.
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“If it is not genocide, it looks very much like the definition used to express its meaning,” she said.
“What we are seeing is a concrete population being targeted, killed, and condemned to starve to death. A concrete population is confined, with no homes, being destroyed, no food, water, or medicines, being forbidden to access, and subject to bombing and shooting even when they are trying to get humanitarian aid. Any humanity is absent, and no witness[es] are allowed,” Ribera added.
The legal charge of genocide indicates an intent to destroy a group of people. The International Criminal Court came close to accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of genocide, charging him in November 2024 with “war crimes of starvation as a method of warfare and of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.”
Israel has fervently denied accusations of genocide. The Jewish state often compares such accusations to Medieval “blood libel” and finds the charge particularly offensive due to Jews’ experiences in the Holocaust. It has accused those using the term of directing attention away from war crimes committed by Hamas and its allies on Oct. 7, 2023, which could also constitute genocide.
The use of the term by a senior EU official will likely crater relations between the union and Israel further and incense its allies within the United States. President Donald Trump previously threatened trade negotiations with Canada after it indicated that it would recognize Palestine as a state.
Ribera is a Socialist from Spain, one of Israel’s most vocal European critics. Her comments on Gaza have verged on insubordination, openly chastizing European Commission Executive President Ursula Von Der Leyen for her perceived inaction on the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
In a July interview with Spain’s Cadena Ser radio network, Ribera said she pushed von der Leyen for strong action against Israel over Gaza “for months, practically every week.” She then compared the situation in Gaza to the Holocaust, comparing it to that of the Warsaw Ghetto and slamming EU officials, ostensibly including von der Leyen, for standing by while “one of the worst humanitarian scandals [in history]” unfolds, adding that “history will not look the other way.”
In her Thursday comments, Ribera said the EU should suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement, the foremost trade and economic agreement between them. Sanctions are more difficult to pursue, as they require unanimity, but should be pursued if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu goes ahead with annexing the Gaza Strip.
“What … has been said and done by the Israeli authorities go far beyond the international law limits,” she said.
Ribera represents one pole in the internal EU battle over Israel and the War in Gaza, with Germany serving as the opposite extreme. Buoyed by a desire to make amends for the Holocaust, Berlin has long been Israel’s foremost ally in Europe. On Tuesday, a German government spokesman voiced optimism about the deteriorating situation in Gaza, arguing that its constant dialogue with Israeli authorities and “unyielding stance” was triggering positive developments.
“Something has developed in a positive direction,” he said. He claimed that over the past two weeks, the number of aid trucks has gone from 40 per day to “250 trucks per day … arriving in the Gaza Strip.”
Ribera disagreed with the optimistic assessment.
“If we want to stop this horrible famine, we need to flood this territory with food and water, medical care, transparency, and adequate caretakers and professional organizations supported by the [United Nations.] I don’t have the impression that we have achieved that phase yet,” she said.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza has reached a critical point, with the growing risk of starvation drawing even some of Israel’s closest allies to take action to alleviate the suffering of Gazans. Israel’s high command is currently debating whether or not to occupy Gaza fully for the foreseeable future.
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Casualty counts of the war in Gaza are contested. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, overseen by Hamas, over 62,700 Palestinians have been killed in the war. The number doesn’t distinguish between Hamas militants and civilians. Israel has hotly disputed these numbers and argued that the majority of those killed were Hamas militants.
Over 1,200 Israelis were killed in Hamas’s initial Oct. 7, 2023, onslaught. An estimated 20 Israeli hostages are still alive in Gaza. Israeli authorities reported that over 450 Israel Defense Forces soldiers have been killed in Gaza.