Israeli ambassador called for execution of Gaza minors
Israeli ambassador to Austria, David Roet, called for the execution of Palestinian minors involved in armed conflict, the Middle East Eye reported on March 24th.
Roet made the claims during a secretly recorded video on March 20th. He was attending a closed-door meeting with the local Jewish community in Innsbruck.
The Israeli ambassador said that “there should be a death sentence” for teenagers “holding a gun” or a “grenade”. However, he provided no evidence of children holding weapons in Gaza.
Figures from UNICEF say that over 14,500 children have been killed by Israel in Gaza since the start of the war on October 7th 2023. Roet had been recorded in the video two days after Israel broke the ceasefire on March 18th, By which, the child death tally of Palestinians had reached almost 200, with over 500 Palestinians killed overall.
Roet also questioned if Europe should invest in Gaza’s reconstruction. He said: “Will Europe be crazy enough to invest money again in Gaza? So we will have to destroy it the next time.”
The activist who took the video criticised Roet’s comments. They said: “I felt sickened by the calm in Mr Roet’s voice as he made these statements. No one intervened when he suggested the death penalty for children”.
Additionally, according to Roet, the Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker sought a meeting. The aim of the meeting, Roet claims, was to reassure Stocker that ties between Austria and Israel continue unscathed.
Middle East Eye
