Israeli minister criticises Pope’s call to study whether Gaza offensive ‘genocide’
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Israel's Minister of Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli said the Pope's remarks amounted to a “trivialisation” of the term genocide.
PHOTO: REUTERS
VATICAN CITY – An Israeli government minister criticised Pope Francis on Dec 20 for suggesting the international community should study whether Israel’s military offensive in Gaza constitutes a genocide of the Palestinian people.
In an open letter published by Italian newspaper Il Foglio, Minister of Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli said the Pope’s remarks – made in excerpts from a book that were published in November – amounted to a “trivialisation” of the term genocide.
“As a people who lost six million of its sons and daughters in the Holocaust, we are particularly sensitive to the trivialisation of the term ‘genocide’ – a trivialisation that comes dangerously close to Holocaust denial,” Mr Chikli wrote.
Mr Chikli, who ended the letter by calling the Pope “a dear friend of the Jewish people”, asked Pope Francis “to clarify your position regarding the new accusation of genocide against the Jewish state”.
The Vatican did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter.
Israel says accusations of genocide in Gaza are baseless and that it is solely hunting down Hamas militants and other Palestinian armed groups.
The Pope, as leader of the 1.4 billion-member Roman Catholic Church, is usually careful about taking sides in conflicts, but has recently been more outspoken about Israel’s military campaign against Palestinian militant group Hamas.
In the book excerpts published by Italian daily La Stampa, the pontiff said that according to some international experts, “what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide”.
He added: “We should investigate carefully to assess whether this fits into the technical definition (of genocide) formulated by international jurists and organisations.”
The authorities in the Gaza Strip say more than 45,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 107,000 injured in Israel’s offensive. Most of the enclave’s more than two million people are homeless or displaced.
Israel began its offensive after a Hamas-led attack on communities in southern Israel on Oct 7, 2023, in which about 1,200 were killed and more than 250 were abducted and taken to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. REUTERS
