The European Union is “complicit” in the “genocide” allegedly perpetrated by Israel in Gaza, and the European bloc is acting with “hypocrisy” by sending weapons to Ukraine, but abandoning the Palestinian people to their fate. These remarks were made by Irene Montero, head of the list of the Spanish radical left party Podemos for the European elections in June.
Irene Montero, a controversial former equality minister, has harshly attacked the EU for what she describes as “servitude” towards Israel, EFE partner Euractiv reported.
The head of the Podemos list also attacked Teresa Ribera, the head of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez (PSOE, S&D).
“[Teresa] Ribera cannot afford to wash the face of a European Commission from the war,” said Irene Montero. She also warned of the risk that this “hawkish consensus” in Brussels could serve as an excuse to hide significant budget cuts for social policies in Europe, reported El País.
Ms Montero continued by declaring that “the EU today is pure hypocrisy”, because, while sending weapons to Ukraine, it “abandons the Sahrawi and Palestinian people” by supporting Morocco and “by being complicit of the genocidal State of Israel”.
Furthermore, Ms. Montero added that “the interests of Europe at the moment unfortunately have nothing to do with peace” and that is why, as she pointed out, the objective of the camp the Spanish and European left should be “to build a Europe of peace, human rights and sovereignty that does not submit to the warlike interests of the United States”.
New diplomatic clash with Israel
The Israeli offensive in Gaza, following the Hamas terrorist attacks in October, continued to make headlines in Spain this weekend, just 24 hours before the official announcement by Madrid, Oslo and Dublin of the recognition of Palestinian state on Tuesday (May 28).
Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles (PSOE, S&D) said in an interview broadcast on Saturday by Spanish public radio and television (RTVE) that what is happening in Gaza is “a real genocide”.
Ms Robles’ comments led to a new clash with the Israeli embassy in Spain which, in a statement published in X, regretted that Ms Robles had “endorsed the false and unfounded narrative of the Hamas terrorist organization”.
According to medical sources in Gaza, nearly 36,000 people have died since the start of the Israeli military offensive, the vast majority of them civilians, and thousands more are missing.
This article is originally published on .euractiv.fr
