Slovenian President Natasa Pirc Musar criticized the lack of unanimity regarding the war in the Gaza Strip in a speech to the European Parliament. She said that Europe is watching genocide and is silent, reported Slovenian national television RTV Slo, quoted by BTA.
"Believe me, the events in the Middle East regularly interrupt my sleep at night. What can a small country do? What can the European Union do? Sometimes I feel like nothing or too little. Yes, everything is in the hands of a great power. I will allow myself to say today in the European Parliament - in the West Bank we are seeing genocide. We are watching it and we are silent," said Pirc Musar.
The war in the Gaza Strip began on October 7 2023 with the surprise cross-border attack by the radical Palestinian group "Hamas" on Israeli territory. According to Israeli data, over 1,200 people were killed at that time, and 251 hostages were taken captive by the Islamists.
According to information provided by the "Hamas" Health Ministry, the subsequent Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip killed more than 53,000 Palestinians.
From the beginning of March until the beginning of this week, Israel did not allow humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza. Pirz Mussar noted that even countries that are friendly to Israel should not forget about humanitarian law and humanity in general.
"When it comes to tens of thousands of children who are barely surviving, when almost 60,000 people, mainly women and children, have died in Gaza, then it is about "elementary solidarity that every person must show to another", she stressed.
The Slovenian president added that, in addition to humanitarian aid, the main goal of the European Union should also be an urgent ceasefire. In her speech, she also advocated for EU enlargement.
"We must respond to the crises in the modern world in a spirit of solidarity, unity and, above all, determination. We need more Europe, not less. We need a connected, strategically purposeful and more sovereign European Union that knows how to defend its values and interests", she pointed out.
Pirc Musar's speech was greeted with long applause.