Europe’s Leaders Are Lining Up to Support Israel’s War on the People of Gaza
Israel’s government has declared war on Gaza’s civilians in the name of collective punishment, ordering them to flee their homes or face unrestrained violence. European leaders who have supported this war will bear responsibility for what happens next.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen gestures during a tribute to the victims of Hamas’s attacks in Israel at European Parliament, October 11. (Kenzo Tribouillard / AFP via Getty Images)
The Israeli military has ordered more than a million Palestinians to leave the northern part of Gaza. It did not say when they would be allowed to return to their homes — if indeed their homes are still left standing after the Israeli offensive.
A UN spokesman warned that the Israeli order would have “devastating humanitarian consequences,” turning “what is already a tragedy into a calamitous situation.” The Norwegian Refugee Council demanded that this “illegal and impossible order” be canceled immediately:
The loss of civilian lives caused by deliberate or indiscriminate use of force is a war crime for which the perpetrators will have to answer. We fear that Israel may claim that Palestinians who could not flee northern Gaza can be erroneously held as directly participating in hostilities, and targeted.
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