With the participation of 20 European countries, a conference in Copenhagen exposes the West's silence on the Gaza genocide. A panel discussion on the Western stance on the war of extermination in Gaza was held as part of the Copenhagen 2026 conference.
Speakers at a conference organized by the European Palestinian Network in the Danish capital, Copenhagen, on Saturday affirmed that the ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip since October 2023 has revealed the collapse of the Western moral system and the double standards in the application of international law, while participants stressed that human solidarity with the Palestinian people has transcended borders and nationalities despite the silence of governments.
The conference, held under the title “Solidarity… Together for Humanity,” was attended by more than 1,000 people from 20 European countries, including former ministers, members of parliament, and representatives of more than 120 non-governmental organizations, in a clear message of growing European awareness of the Palestinian issue and rising public anger over governments’ complicity with the Israeli occupation.
The participants called for immediate sanctions against Israel and for its leaders to be held accountable for genocide crimes, criticizing the European double standard that continues to impose sanctions on Russia because of the war with Ukraine, while not a single sanction has been imposed on Israel despite it killing and injuring more than 240,000 Palestinians, including 20,000 children, according to statistics from the Ministry of Health in Gaza.
The speakers at the conference stressed that the so-called ceasefire did not end the genocide, as Israeli bombing continues to claim the lives of dozens of Palestinians daily at a rate of two Palestinians per hour, while the occupation continues to strangle the sector, destroy infrastructure and expand control over the land, considering that the silence of European governments and the absence of real action makes them complicit in the genocide.
Humanity has no nationality
During the conference sessions, a spirit of deep human empathy prevailed for the suffering of the Palestinian people, as participants spoke of painful stories of children, women, and men who lost their lives in barbaric bombing that spared neither hospitals, nor schools, nor even ambulances.
Wissam Hamada (the mother of five-year-old Hind Rajab, who was killed in Gaza) recounted how her daughter waited for help that never arrived after the ambulance sent to rescue her was bombed. The grieving mother said, “What happened to Hind is not just a personal story; it reveals how a child can be left to die before the eyes of the world without anyone being held accountable.”
Norwegian doctor Mads Gilbert (who worked in Gaza for several years) confirmed that the genocide has not stopped, noting that more than 500 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire, and that ”the killing is taking place at a rate of two Palestinians per hour.” He added that the silence, neutrality, and inaction of European governments make them complicit in the genocide.
Gilbert stressed that healthcare workers continued to work, rebuild, and reopen despite the killing of more than 1,700 doctors, nurses, and paramedics, considering medicine as part of the resistance.
For his part, the head of the Palestinian Initiative, Mustafa Barghouti, revealed that 121,000 people from Gaza were killed or injured, which is equivalent to 250,000 people, including 20,000 children, stressing that the war has not ended and that the Israeli bombing on the morning of the conference (yesterday, Saturday) led to the killing of an additional 29 Palestinians, including 7 children and 9 women.
In his address to the conference, Barghouti said that 200,000 tons of American, German and French explosives were dropped on Gaza, which is 86 kilograms of explosives for every man, woman and child, exceeding the nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
He pointed out that more than 2,500 families were completely wiped out from the civil records, and that more than 5,600 families disappeared, with only one person remaining from each, stressing that the Palestinian people have not been broken and will not accept ethnic cleansing.
International law and double standards
The participants strongly criticized the double standards in the application of international law, as Europe imposed 11,000 sanctions on Russia in two months after its war on Ukraine, while not a single sanction was imposed on Israel despite its committing genocide in Gaza, according to them.
The speakers stressed that European governments talk about protecting international law and human rights, but remain silent when it comes to Palestine, and some of them even continue to supply Israel with weapons used to kill children and women.
Israeli historian Ilan Pappe said that “Zionism is fundamentally a European project, and that Europe is still stuck in a narrative that refuses to acknowledge its complicity and responsibility for the suffering of the Palestinians since the arrival of Zionism,” stressing that European silence regarding the genocide reflects the continent’s inability to confront its colonial legacy.
Pappe added in his keynote address at the conference that “Europe’s support for the colonization of Palestine by a Jewish movement came about because it did not want to confront its racism towards Jews and its racism towards others, and because it wanted to expand its imperialist invasion of the Middle East.”.
For his part, French lawyer Alaa Adas said that “international law is being violated now when we talk about Greenland and Venezuela, but it was killed first in Gaza,” noting that “the French president (Emmanuel Macron) considered Putin’s cutting off of gas and electricity to Ukraine a war crime, while he said about Israel that it has the right to defend itself despite committing the same crimes.”.
Adas stressed that freedom of expression in European countries allows for discussion of any topic, but when it comes to the Palestinian issue, red lines appear that cannot be crossed, noting that people have begun to open their eyes to the truth and to how the decision to establish the illegal State of Israel was made inside Palestine.
International law experts participating in the conference sessions stressed that denying genocide is convenient for European governments because recognizing it entails a legal and moral obligation to act to stop it and hold those responsible accountable, which these governments do not want to do.
Large European representation
The presence of more than 1,000 people from 20 European countries in Copenhagen demonstrated the depth of European popular solidarity with the Palestinian cause, despite the silence of governments and their complicity in the genocide.
The conference included former ministers, members of parliament, prominent academics and human rights activists, many of whom had visited Palestine and witnessed firsthand the crimes committed against its people, indicating the weight and importance of the participants and their seriousness in dealing with the issue.
British politician of Palestinian origin, Lian Mahmood (who ran in the 2024 UK general election as an independent and nearly defeated a government minister), said that Gaza has woken people up from their slumber and made them realize that their political system is broken.
Lian added that Gaza changed an entire generation for the better, that young people today have a bigger cause, and that Gaza has ignited a passion within them all that will be difficult to extinguish, stressing that change is possible even within institutional politics.
For his part, Palestinian activist Mohammed Shehadeh asserted that mainstream media has become caricatured due to the suppression of Gazans' voices, noting that everyone has turned to social media to get the truth about what is happening in Gaza.
He said that the Western media only summoned him to criticize the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) or to portray him crying as a helpless victim, rejecting this stereotyping and demanding an opportunity to provide a real political analysis.
On the sidelines of the conference
On the sidelines of the conference, seven specialized workshops were held, addressing legal, strategic, and sporting topics, with the aim of building a coordinated and effective European solidarity network, including:
The establishment of the “Lawyers Against the Occupation” organization, headquartered in Spain, will include several specialized teams, some of which are concerned with violations against children, and others with the rights of prisoners in the occupation prisons, as well as violations against the medical sector.
The “Run for Palestine” initiative, which previously had around 5,000 participants in Denmark alone, will be adopted this year by 4 European countries, which will organize several events and activities to support Palestine.
The Hanzala Fund, whose concept is based on supporting small projects with up to 1500 euros, was launched in Denmark and supported 12 different projects. Now, efforts are underway to expand the idea throughout Europe.
A political initiative involving former ministers from Denmark and Finland, the former Secretary-General of the United Nations General Assembly, and some parliamentarians and politicians from several European countries, with the aim of establishing a group that can exert political influence in support of the Palestinian people.
A workshop on communications and social media was held, during which a large number of existing ideas and initiatives were presented, along with how to develop work in them in the future.
The conference also featured Palestinian heritage events, where traditional clothing reflecting Palestinian identity and handicrafts were displayed, in addition to a Palestinian painter who, through his paintings, reflected the Palestinian’s attachment to his land and his attachment to the olive tree.
The Palestinian Doctors Association in Denmark launched an initiative that relies on deducting a direct portion of each participant's salary in order to provide medical needs for the residents of the Gaza Strip. About 1,100 people are participating in this campaign so far.
The conference also witnessed the launch of the book “They Cannot Kill the Stars” by Palestinian journalist Wajdan Abu Shamala, who lost 400 members of her family due to the genocide resulting from Israeli bombing. The book documents the stories of 17 people from Gaza, including those killed, injured, and missing.
Abu Shamala said the book is not just about the dead, but is a testament to a war that has not truly ended, stressing that the names of the people of Gaza should not fade into silence, and that writing stories was indeed an act of memory and resistance.
For his part, Palestinian journalist colleague Wael Al-Dahdouh gave a moving testimony about the suffering of journalists in Gaza, where more than 275 journalists have been killed since the start of the aggression.
Al-Dahdouh said that journalists in Gaza pay a double price compared to ordinary civilians because they are directly targeted, stressing that the distinctive vests and helmets for journalists have not protected them but have made them targets.
It is worth noting that this is the second conference organized by the European Palestinian Network, following the first edition held in 2025. The European Palestinian Network is a solidarity organization that brings together European organizations and activists working to support the Palestinian cause and expose Israeli crimes, and seeks to build a strong and organized popular solidarity movement in the face of the silence of governments.
Source: Al Jazeera
