“AND It’s time for Europe to wake up when it comes to defense and security. Because what is at stake is immense”, declared Ursula von der Leyen, before an audience of industrialists and sector experts.
As she was preparing to give this speech, she was interrupted by a protester who accused her of “helping with the genocide in Gaza” and of giving “full support to Israel at the beginning of this genocide”.
“The blood of Palestinian children is on your hands,” shouted the protester, who also called von der Leyen a “criminal” and proclaimed “Liberate Palestine”, before being removed from the room, according to the EFE news agency.
After the incident, the president of the European Commission stated that the “threat of war may not be imminent, but it is not impossible”, so there must be preparation.
Von der Leyen recalled Iran’s attack on Israel, “the most recent declaration of intent by the new coalition of authoritarian regimes”, which stretches from Iran to Russia.
“We must start working on the future of our security architecture – with the necessary speed and political will,” he insisted.
Last autumn, the European Commission proposed a new defense strategy with 1.5 billion euros to help manufacturers in the sector work better together and produce in Europe.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in February 2022, took place after decades of cuts in the defense budget of European countries, with the 27 responding with various initiatives, but with difficulties in meeting Ukraine’s most urgent needs.
The current conflict in Gaza began on October 7, after Palestinian Islamists from Hamas carried out an attack of unprecedented proportions on Israeli territory, killing 1,163 people, mostly civilians, and 250 hostages, according to Israeli authorities.
In retaliation, Israel declared a war to “eradicate” Hamas, killing more than 33,800 people in the Gaza Strip and causing more than 76,200 injuries and thousands of missing people, most of them civilians, according to the latest report from local authorities.
The conflict has also left almost two million people displaced, plunging the overpopulated and poor Palestinian enclave into a serious humanitarian crisis, with more than 1.1 million people in a “situation of catastrophic hunger” that is already claiming victims – “the highest number ever recorded” by the UN in studies on food security in the world.
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Source: https://www.noticiasaominuto.com/mundo/2542832/manifestantes-pro-palestina-acusam-von-der-leyen-de-ajudar-genocidio
