“Israel is committing what amounts to genocide in Gaza under Netanyahu’s leadership,” declared Peter Rahbæk Juel, the Social Democratic mayor of Odense, in a Facebook post.
According to TV2, the question of whether Israel is committing genocide is a point of contention on which the International Criminal Court has not yet issued a ruling.
The mayor of Odense refers to several international experts, and he himself no longer doubts it: “But this is also what I see unfolding day after day, month after month, a genocide!” Peter Rahbeck-Jule wrote in his post.
Peter Rahbek-Jule directs particular criticism at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as it has also been only a few days since Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen strongly criticized Netanyahu in an interview with the Jyllands-Posten newspaper.
This is what Peter Rahbek Yul wrote in his post: The picture is below.
Israel is committing what amounts to genocide in Gaza under Netanyahu's leadership. These are not figments of my imagination; they are confirmed by numerous international experts. And it is also what I see unfolding day by day, month by month – genocide!
Netanyahu could stop it immediately and provide the civilian population with their most basic humanitarian needs: water, food, and security. Emergency aid is ready in long lines of trucks at the Gaza border!
Netanyahu could have cemented his place in the annals of history alongside other disreputable leaders who share a megalomania that trumps human life. But one thing is clear: he and the Israeli right will not do that.
While Hamas’s terrorist attacks on Israel deserve nothing but contempt, it is also clear that Netanyahu has long since passed the point at which the exercise of the right to self-defense has been exhausted.
Instead, it is exploiting the situation to announce new illegal settlements and continue one of the bloodiest wars in recent history. Starvation is being used as a weapon to torture the civilian population of Gaza, whom Israel has besieged and confined to a small area. Yesterday, the International Committee of the Red Cross declared famine in Gaza City for the first time in the world since 2004!
In this equation, it's obvious that Hamas should have released the last of the Israeli hostages long ago. But this by no means constitutes a balanced argument against Israel's brutal and historically bloody iron grip on Gaza, which has lasted for years.
It is understandable that the bloodshed in Gaza stirs strong emotions in many, even in Odense. I myself am deeply affected. Regardless of whether you are right-wing or left-wing, Danish, Israeli, or Palestinian, Christian, Jewish, or Muslim, we must never accept a world or a world order in which civilians—women and children—pay such a heavy price for the actions (or wrongdoings) of states and organizations. We must never abandon what binds us together as a people.
Those with influence in the world must do something effective to stop the historic nightmare in Gaza. The worst part is that Trump seems to have given Netanyahu free rein to continue the bloodshed in Gaza with impunity. In the current global climate, where adults dictate to children what they can do in schoolyards, this is a major problem—not least for the civilian population of Gaza.
I would like to conclude on a note of hope. But hope is scarce right now. That is why I end with an appeal. An appeal to world leaders: Put more pressure on Netanyahu's government—and turn your backs on Israel if it cannot stop the bloodshed on its own and ensure unimpeded access for essential emergency aid to the civilian population. Then force Hamas to negotiate a ceasefire and release the hostages. These are absolutely vital first steps if there is to be any hope of a lasting solution and an enduring peace. It can be done. And it is urgent!
