LONDON: Spain’s Minister for Social Rights has accused Israel of committing a “planned genocide” in Gaza after thousands of Palestinians, including hundreds of children, were killed in Tel Aviv’s bombing of the besieged enclave.
Ione Belarra, the leader of left-wing party Podemos, on Monday condemned the bombing and siege of 2 million civilians in Gaza as an act of “collective punishment” and a war crime.
“Today we want to raise our voice to denounce that the state of Israel is carrying out a planned genocide in the Gaza Strip, leaving hundreds of thousands without light, food, and water and carrying out bombings on the civilian population that are collective punishment, seriously breach international law and may be considered war crimes,” she said in a video posted on X.
Belarra argued that the US and EU have not responded to the Israeli war on Gaza in a neutral manner but are instead backing Israel’s policy of apartheid and occupation.
“Using the horrific murders of Israeli civilians by Palestinian armed factions as an excuse to justify Israel’s crimes in general and the massacre in Gaza in particular is unacceptable,” she added.
The minister called for the reopening of humanitarian corridors in Gaza, saying that the EU should not be “an accomplice of a war criminal,” alluding to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
She also urged Spanish citizens to take to the streets, calling for Madrid to distance itself from the unwavering support that the US has shown for Israel.
