Group of MEPs alleges EU complicity in Israel’s Gaza war crimes

A group of European Parliament lawmakers has accused the European Union of being complicit in Israel’s war crimes in Gaza.

Abir al-Sahlani, an Iraqi-born Swedish Member of the European Parliament (MEP), protested by raising one hand – painted in red – and covering her mouth with the other during a speech at the EP.

After the speaker of the parliament intervened, al-Sahlani said: “Mr. president, there are no words left to describe what is happening in Gaza.”

“Israel has violated every rule it could violate. We have no other authority to appeal to. The hypocrisy is obvious. Human rights have a color. The darker your color, the less your rights,” she added.

Also addressing the session, French lawmaker Manon Aubry said: “As we speak here, 1.5 million people know they will die in (the city of) Rafah if we don’t do anything (to stop the Israeli attacks).”

“People are dying because we are providing military equipment to Israel to kill thousands of Palestinians. They are dying because the EU chooses to turn a blind eye to this and chooses to renew the partnership agreement with Israel for the sake of a little profit,” she added.

Spanish lawmaker Miguel Urban Crespo said Israel is organizing a new Nakba with the complicity of European governments.

He was referring to the Nakba, or “catastrophe,” when around 700,000 Palestinians fled or were forced from their homes in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war that led to Israel’s creation.

Mentioning his recent visit to the Rafah border crossing, he said: “There were people filling the area just a few meters away. While 600 (aid) trucks need to pass a day, only five are allowed to pass. Israel uses hunger as a weapon of war.”

Following the Oct. 7 Hamas incursion, Israel launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip, killing nearly 30,000 people and causing mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the U.N.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.