EU President Should Be Tried for Complicity in Israel’s War Crimes, Says Top UN Expert on Palestine

03.05.2025    The Intercept    10 views
EU President Should Be Tried for Complicity in Israel’s War Crimes, Says Top UN Expert on Palestine

As the International Court of Justice takes its next approaches on reviewing and prosecuting war crimes in Israel s war on Gaza the top expert on Palestine at the United Nations is pushing for even more international accountability In a wide-ranging special interview with The Intercept U N special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese called for top European Union authorities including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to face charges of complicity in war crimes over their backing for Israel during its -month assault on Gaza They will have to understand that immunity cannot equate with impunity The fact that the two highest figures of the EU continue business as usual engagements with Israel is beyond deplorable Albanese noted I m not someone who says History will judge them they will have to be judged before then And they will have to understand that immunity cannot equate with impunity Israel has killed more than people and destroyed almost all of Gaza s civilian infrastructure since an attack by Hamas in October Preponderance of the dead were civilians including tens of thousands of women and children Israel s initial aim of returning hostages taken by Hamas morphed into a U S -backed vision for ethnically cleaning Palestinians from Gaza To that end Israel s army has intensified lethal attacks along with a watertight embargo on food water electricity and aid It is impossible not to see this as an intent to exterminate the EU s former foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell wrote late last month A complaint against the Leyen the European Commission president was filed at the International Criminal Court last May for complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza Since taking office in December the bloc s new foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas has blamed Hamas for an Israeli decision to end its ceasefire in March continued normal diplomatic relations and vowed to stand in solidarity with Israel The Genocide Convention calls upon signatories to not only punish but also prevent genocide stated Mouin Rabbani a Middle East analyst and non-resident fellow at the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies Here we have the two senior EU agents not only refusing to take even symbolic action to prevent genocide but actively normalizing and supporting it in the full knowledge that their backing enables the crimes they nominally oppose So of program Special Rapporteur Albanese s points and observations are spot on and entirely correct A spokesperson for the European Commission the EU s executive body insisted that the bloc was still commited to international law arguing that the Europeans business and diplomatic relations with Israel allowed leaders to express their positions and concerns The spokesperson Gioia Franchellucci mentioned The association agreement with Israel is the legal basis of our ongoing dialogue with the Israeli officers and it provides mechanisms to discuss issues and advance our point of views Related EU Leaders Will Claim Ignorance of Israel s War Crimes This Leaked Document Shows What They Knew Late last year The Intercept revealed that an internal summary by a top EU human rights official called for European countries to suspend all political relations and arms trading with Israel due to evidence of war crimes Beyond demanding accountability from EU leaders Albanese commented she is working on a description which will expose banks pensions funds tech companies and universities for complicity in Gaza s destruction All those implicated and involved in the unlawful occupation in providing it with promotion are aiding and abetting violations of international law and human rights violations and a number of these amount to crimes she revealed There can be individual responsibility and individual liability for those who have been aiding and abetting or enabling such crimes Read our complete coverage Israel s War on Gaza Though the International Criminal Court has issued warrants for Israeli leaders including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Middlesex University professor of international law William Schabas an expert on genocide explained that prosecuting a senior EU figure would break with precedent It s clear that there is a development he explained Not all of Israel s supporters around the world would be accomplices but she s the head of a very significant intergovernmental organisation and is encouraging Israel But I think it s unreasonable to expect the prosecutor of the ICC to take it up because he s only issued a couple of arrest warrants identifying people in the Israeli authorities and hasn t shown any interest in going further afield than that Schabas added Von der Leyen is clearly reflecting a position taken by plenty of EU governments which is one of very unconditional help of Israel and they re doing this flying in the face of population information suggesting that Israel is commiting terrible crimes in Gaza and the West Bank The latest calls for legal accountability come as the International Court of Justice citizens hearing continues into Israel s obligations to allow humanitarian aid and aid agencies access to the occupied Palestinian territories The court has previously ruled that Israel s actions in Gaza may plausibly amount to genocide and ordered Israel to allow in more aid The issue has triggered global political upheaval and while playing it down Albanese reported that she and her family have been subjected to death threats since her assessment Anatomy of a Genocide was published in March I come from a place that taught me that the mafia kills through silence It kills when people don t react to it My safety has become of a less of a certainty since since I presented my Anatomy of a Genocide statement Albanese mentioned I ve received calls in the middle of the night making threats to me my family members my children Of discipline I can t tell you that I m percent safe Of discipline I m taking precautions Of discipline where I live I have protection you never know but at the same time I won t let myself be paralyzed because of these mafia-style techniques I come from a place that taught me that the mafia kills through silence she noted It kills when people don t react to it This is why I m so motivated in what I m doing I will continue to speak until I have no more air in my lungs The post EU President Should Be Tried for Complicity in Israel s War Crimes Says Top UN Expert on Palestine appeared first on The Intercept

Similar News

The Vatican installs chimney to signal the selection of the next pope
The Vatican installs chimney to signal the selection of the next pope

Ahead of the election of the next pope, a chimney was installed atop the Sistine Chapel on Friday, w...

04.05.2025 1
Read More
Actress and 'Laugh-In' comedian Ruth Buzzi dies at 88
Actress and 'Laugh-In' comedian Ruth Buzzi dies at 88

Buzzi, who was best known for her regular appearances on the NBC variety TV show Rowan & Martin's La...

03.05.2025 4
Read More
Man arrested for 2016 Cicero murder after 9 years: police
Man arrested for 2016 Cicero murder after 9 years: police

An arrest has been made in the 2016 murder of then 22-year-old Julio Servin. In August of 2016, Cice...

03.05.2025 2
Read More