Palestinian envoy accuses Israel of 'genocide'

PALESTINIAN Ambassador to the Philippines Saleh Mohammad accused Israel of committing genocide against the Palestinian people as the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) continued to attack Gaza with a church among its latest targets.

«Israel's war machines are still bombing everywhere and are not excluding any target. Palestinian life matters. Our life is not lesser than Israelis. This is not a war, this is genocide,» the Palestinian envoy said during a virtual press briefing via Zoom platform on Friday night.

He deplored the support of some world leaders for Israel's right to self-defense which the IDF used to commit acts of genocide against the Palestinians.

«What Israel is doing is no longer its defense against Hamas. Rather, it has an agenda of ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people, displacement, and mass deportations of the people there,» Ambassador Mohammad told reporters.

«What you see now in Gaza, is this self-defense? The scenes of these people getting killed, innocent people, this is what the world leaders authorized Israel to do,» he lamented.

«World leaders have condemned Hamas. World leaders have shown sympathy and solidarity with Israel, and declare that they understand and they support the right of Israel to defend themselves,» said the envoy.

However, Mohammad emphasized that the right of defense is not like committing genocide.

He said no world leader who has ethics and loves his own people would authorize another country to massacre innocent civilians, like the one happening now in Gaza.