BRUSSELS — European Commission Vice President Teresa Ribera has lambasted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s reported plans to push for full control over the Gaza Strip, calling it an “unacceptable provocation” on social media.
“No excuses. The demands are simple and obvious: liberation of hostages, ceasefire, full access to humanitarian aid, full respect to human rights, transparency and condemn of the horrifying use of violence and starvation,” Ribera, the EU’s second-most powerful politician, wrote on Bluesky on Tuesday.
In a meeting with senior security officials on Tuesday, Netanyahu reportedly backed expanding Israel’s ongoing military campaign to take control of the entire enclave — even if it means risking the lives of hostages held by Hamas. According to The Times of Israel, the meeting aimed to finalize a plan to a present to the full cabinet later this week.
Ribera is a member of the Spain’s ruling Socialist party, whose politicians have repeatedly criticized Israel’s war on Hamas. On July 30, she called out Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the College of Commissioners for failing to address Gaza’s escalating humanitarian crisis, saying that “history will not look the other way.”
“We are in a race against time, with people dying of hunger,” Ribera said last week. “Europe must react and consolidate itself as a political actor … And mobilize the principles that inspired the construction of the European project.”
U.N. agencies warned last week that Palestinians in Gaza were facing famine, with food consumption and nutrition indicators at their lowest levels since the conflict began.
The plans, first reported on Monday, were met with objections from army chief, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, according to local media. But Netanyahu’s office wrote on X following Tuesday’s meeting that the Israeli army “is prepared to carry out any decision made by the Security Cabinet.”
The takeover scheme comes after Palestinian militant group Hamas released a video on Saturday showing an emaciated Israeli hostage digging what he said will be his own grave. Days earlier, Hamas ally Palestinian Islamic Jihad also released a video of another hostage, showing him thin and crying. Both videos were condemned by Western leaders. Hamas is thought to still have 49 hostages in Gaza; around half are believed to be dead.
Many Israelis, including some relatives of hostages taken by Palestinian militant group Hamas when it launched terrorist attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, have accused Netanyahu of prolonging the 22-month conflict to maintain his governing coalition.
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