Israeli ministers hold European leaders responsible for Washington attack

The Israeli foreign and diaspora ministers held Europe and some of its leaders responsible for the shooting in the US capital, which claimed the lives of two Israeli embassy employees in Washington.

For his part, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said that the shooting that killed two Israeli embassy employees in Washington was a direct result of "poisonous anti-Semitic incitement against Israel and Jews around the world."

He stated that "a number of European leaders use deadly terms such as genocide, and this use threatens Israel's security," considering that these European leaders' use of the term genocide is a submission to what he described as "Palestinian propaganda."

Sa'ar called on "world leaders to stop incitement against Israel," as he claimed, expressing his "growing concern over the repeated incidents" at Israeli embassies around the world, particularly in Europe.

He also said that Israeli representatives around the world have become "targets of terrorism," and that "anti-Semitism deprives Israelis of a sense of security."

Holding European leaders accountable

For his part, Israeli Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli on Thursday held the leaders of France, Britain, Canada, and all those opposed to his country's war on the Gaza Strip responsible for the shooting in the US capital.

Shakili said, via the X platform, that Western leaders, such as French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, must be held accountable for the shooting in Washington.

"We must also hold accountable the irresponsible leaders in the West who support this hatred," he continued.

He added that the French president, the British prime minister, and the Canadian prime minister "encouraged the forces of terrorism by failing to draw moral red lines," as he put it.

He claimed that "Freedom for Palestine is not a cry for freedom, but a cry for the killing and demonization of the Jewish state."

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid joined him in claiming that the killing of the two Israeli employees was a result of the pro-Palestinian movement around the world.

"The horrific murder in Washington was an act of anti-Semitic terrorism, a direct result of the incitement we've seen in protests around the world. This is what they meant by 'globalizing the uprising,'" Lapid wrote on his X platform.

In a joint statement, the leaders of France, Britain, and Canada called for an end to Israel's war on Gaza, the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians, and the establishment of a diplomatic path leading to a Palestinian state.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel, with full American support, has been waging a war of genocide in Gaza, including killing, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement, ignoring all international appeals and orders from the International Court of Justice to halt it.

The genocide left more than 175,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 11,000 missing. Hundreds of thousands were displaced, and famine killed many, including children.