Obama calls for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
According to Al Jazeera, former US President Barack Obama criticized the Israeli occupation and genocide in the Gaza Strip on Friday, saying: “There is no military justification for continuing to destroy what is already in ruins,” and called for the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Obama, at a ceremony in Dublin, the capital of Ireland, referring to the escalating humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip, said: “I must say that children cannot die of hunger now. Ignoring the humanitarian crisis that is taking place in Gaza is unacceptable.”
He emphasized the need to establish an independent Palestinian state and, while criticizing world leaders, called on them to work to resolve the Gaza crisis.
Obama strongly criticized Netanyahu at the ceremony, referring to his tense relations with the Israeli Prime Minister, saying: “We have never gotten along.”
Obama’s rare comments on the Gaza war come as world leaders gather in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, a meeting focused on Israel’s aggression against Gaza.
Netanyahu on Friday attacked Western countries’ recent recognition of a Palestinian state, accusing them of “causing pressure from biased media, radical Islamist groups and anti-Semitic groups.”
US President Donald Trump has also said a ceasefire deal is close and he is working to end the Gaza war.
Trump told reporters at the White House on Thursday that he would not allow Israel to annex the occupied West Bank, drawing a rare red line for Israeli actions in the Palestinian territories.
He claimed to have spoken to Netanyahu about the issue and said, “I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. “No, I will not allow this; it will not happen, and it is time for it to stop now.”