Earlier this week, the world’s leading genocide scholars passed a resolution stating that Israel’s actions meet the legal definition of the term.
Israel has denied the allegation of genocide. The Israeli government says its actions in Gaza are self-defense in response to Hamas killing some 1,200 people, most of them civilians, on Oct. 7, 2023.
Ribera has previously expressed frustration over the EU’s inaction on Gaza. In an interview with POLITICO last month, she called on the bloc to consider suspending its Association Agreement with Israel, suggesting that countries opposed to this should simply abstain.
Her speech at Sciences Po did not go into detail on what the bloc should do, with the commissioner going on to talk about Russia’s war in Ukraine, geopolitical tensions and climate change.
But she said: “All of these things are not just sectoral or individual threats but also challenges to the fundamental freedoms and rights upon which our societies and the relations among us have been built,” adding: “Staying silent in the face of injustice … should not be something to accept.”
The European Commission did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
This article has been updated