EU Parliament Divided Over Gaza Genocide Label in Resolution

European Parliament Grapples with Gaza Genocide Terminology

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola has confirmed that EU lawmakers are engaged in intense negotiations over whether to label Israel's military actions in Gaza as genocide in an upcoming resolution. The debate comes amid mounting public pressure across Europe and growing international condemnation of the conflict.

Legal and Political Divisions

"There are some colleagues, and this is a reflection also of the member states, who say that this is a legal word that is used, and others who say the opposite," Metsola told the European Newsroom during an interview in Strasbourg. The Parliament is scheduled to vote on Thursday on a comprehensive resolution addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, including calls for famine prevention, hostage release, and progress toward a two-state solution.

The legal definition of genocide under the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide includes deliberate targeting of population groups based on language, religion, or tradition with intent to destroy them. This encompasses not only killings but also acts causing serious physical or mental harm, imposition of destructive living conditions, prevention of births, and child abductions.

Commissioner's Controversial Remarks

The debate intensified last week when European Commissioner Teresa Ribera characterized Israel's actions as "genocide," stating that the situation exposed "Europe's failure to act and speak with one voice." Her comments sparked immediate controversy, with the European Commission under Ursula von der Leyen distancing itself from the terminology, emphasizing that Ribera was not speaking on behalf of the EU executive.

"The genocide in Gaza exposes Europe's failure to act and speak with one voice even as protest spread across European cities," Ribera had stated, highlighting the growing public discontent.

Humanitarian Catastrophe

The conflict began with Hamas's October 7, 2023 attacks on southern Israel, which killed approximately 1,200 people and resulted in over 250 hostages. Israel's subsequent military campaign has, according to Gaza health authorities, claimed over 64,500 Palestinian lives in the densely populated coastal strip.

Metsola emphasized the severity of the humanitarian situation: "Very clearly we are the number one provider of humanitarian aid and it is clear to everybody that that aid is not arriving. That hostages have not been returned and that we are seeing starvation, hunger and killing on an unprecedented scale."

She stressed that "the situation cannot go on" and that "humanity must always remain the number one priority," acknowledging that the Gaza crisis dominates citizens' concerns and parliamentary discussions.

The resolution vote on Thursday will test the EU's ability to maintain unity on one of the most divisive international issues facing the bloc, with implications for Europe's foreign policy credibility and moral standing.