Greece’s leftist opposition parties on Wednesday slammed the government for opposing an EU decision to review trade ties with Israel amid the “catastrophic” situation in the embattled Gaza Strip.
Decrying how nine member states opposed the EU decision, including Athens and the Greek Cypriot Administration, main opposition party PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis said on X: “The government is exposing our country internationally with its stance. We have a duty to the Greek people to always be on the sidelines of respecting international law and human rights.”
He added: “The government must condemn the heinous events in Gaza, actively supporting every initiative for an immediate ceasefire and the promotion of a two-state solution in the region in accordance with UN resolutions.”
Similarly, the New Left party said in a statement: “Greece is a sad minority, a shameful European and international exception, as it abstains or votes against initiatives by EU states and members to condemn Israel and impose sanctions, unless the channels for providing humanitarian aid are opened and unless there is an immediate ceasefire.”
“Let (Prime Minister) Mr. (Kyriakos) Mitsotakis, his far-right ministers-once antisemitic and now fanatical supporters of genocide-the incompetent foreign minister, and those who turn a blind eye today know well: history will not simply record them as sad observers, but as accomplices in the greatest atrocity of our century,” it added.
Separately, Dimitris Koutsoumpas, head of the Greek Community Party, said: “Here and now, all humanitarian channels should be opened, and aid, water, food, medicine and doctors should be sent immediately to address the famine for the Palestinians, who are being tortured by Israeli barbarity,”
He also called for implementation of the Greek parliament’s unanimous decision to recognize the Palestinian state with its pre-1967 borders and East Jerusalem as its capital.
On Tuesday, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the EU will review a pact governing its political and economic ties with Israel due to the “catastrophic” situation in Gaza.
In the past several days, the Israeli army intensified its air assaults in Gaza, killing more than 500 Palestinians and injuring hundreds of others.
Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing nearly 53,600 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
Also, since March 2, Israel blocked food, water, and medical supplies from reaching Gaza, pushing the enclave to a state of famine. Only recently did it agree to let in some humanitarian aid, but only a trickle.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.