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.
وشهد المؤتمر، الذي عُقد تحت عنوان “المتضامنون.. معًا من أجل الإنسانية”، حضور أكثر من 1000 شخص من 20 دولة أوروبية، بينهم وزراء سابقون وأعضاء برلمانيون وممثلون عن أكثر من 120 منظمة غير حكومية، في رسالة واضحة على تنامي الوعي الأوروبي بالقضية الفلسطينية وتصاعد الغضب الشعبي إزاء تواطؤ الحكومات مع الاحتلال الإسرائيلي.
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.
وروت وسام حمادة (والدة الطفلة هند رجب التي استشهدت في غزة وهي في عمر 5 سنوات) كيف انتظرت طفلتها النجدة التي لم تصل أبدًا، بعدما قُصفت سيارة الإسعاف التي أُرسلت لإنقاذها. وقالت الأم المفجوعة “إن ما حدث لهند لم يكن مجرد قصة شخصية، بل يكشف كيف يُترك طفل ليموت أمام أعين العالم بلا مساءلة.”
وأكد الطبيب النرويجي مادس غيلبرت (الذي عمل في غزة سنوات عدة) أن الإبادة الجماعية لم تتوقف، مشيرًا إلى أن أكثر من 500 فلسطيني قُتلوا منذ ما وقف إطلاق النار، و”أن القتل يجري بمعدل فلسطينيَّين في الساعة”. وأضاف أن الصمت والحياد وغياب التحرك من الحكومات الأوروبية يجعلها شريكة في الإبادة الجماعية.
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.
وقال المؤرخ الإسرائيلي إيلان بابيه إن “الصهيونية مشروع أوروبي في الأساس، وأن أوروبا لا تزال عالقة في سردية ترفض الاعتراف بتواطئها ومسؤوليتها عن معاناة الفلسطينيين منذ وصول الصهيونية”، مشددًا على أن الصمت الأوروبي إزاء الإبادة يعكس عجز القارة عن مواجهة إرثها الاستعماري.
وأضاف بابيه -في كلمته الرئيسية بالمؤتمر- أن “دعم أوروبا لاستعمار فلسطين على يد حركة يهودية جاء لأنها لم تكن تريد مواجهة عنصريتها تجاه اليهود وعنصريتها تجاه الآخرين، ولأنها أرادت توسيع غزوها الإمبريالي للشرق الأوسط”.
من جهته، قال المحامي الفرنسي علاء عدس إن “القانون الدولي يُنتهك الآن عندما نتحدث عن غرينلاند وفنزويلا، لكنه قُتل أولًا في غزة”، مشيرًا إلى أن “الرئيس الفرنسي (إيمانويل ماكرون) اعتبر قطع بوتين الغاز والكهرباء عن أوكرانيا جريمة حرب، بينما قال عن إسرائيل إنها تمتلك حق الدفاع عن النفس رغم ارتكابها الجرائم نفسها”.
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:
تأسيس مؤسسة “محامين ضد الاحتلال” ومقرها سيكون في إسبانيا، وستضم عدة فرق متخصصة، بعضها يهتم بالانتهاكات التي تعرض لها الأطفال، وهناك من يهتم بحقوق الأسرى في سجون الاحتلال، وكذلك الانتهاكات ضد القطاع الطبي.
مبادرة “اركض من أجل فلسطين”، وهي مبادرة سبق أن شارك فيها نحو 5 آلاف مشارك بالدانمارك فقط، وهذا العام ستتبناها 4 دول أوروبية وتنظم معها عدة فعاليات وأنشطة لدعم فلسطين.
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.
كما شهد المؤتمر إطلاق كتاب “لا يستطيعون قتل النجوم” للصحفية الفلسطينية وجدان أبو شمالة التي فقدت 400 شخصا من عائلتها بسبب الإبادة الجماعية نتيجة القصف الإسرائيلي، ويوثق الكتاب قصص 17 شخصًا من غزة بين قتلى ومصابين ومفقودين.
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
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