Israel accuses Pope Francis of trivializing ‘Genocide’ in Gaza context

In a move that could spark outrage, Israel has accused Pope Francis of trivializing the term ‘Genocide’ in Gaza context

Tel Aviv: In a move that could spark outrage, Israel has accused Pope Francis of trivializing the term ‘Genocide’ in Gaza context.

The Israeli accusation came after Pope - the highest-ranking member of the Catholic clergy and the head of the Catholic Church, called for investigation to determine if Israel is committing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.

In an open letter published by Italian newspaper Il Foglio, Israel’s Minister of Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli said the Pope’s remarks – made in excerpts from a forthcoming book that were published last month, amounted to a “trivialisation” of the term genocide.

“As a people who lost six million of its sons and daughters in the Holocaust, we are particularly sensitive to the trivialisation of the term ‘genocide’ – a trivialisation that comes dangerously close to Holocaust denial,” Chikli wrote.

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Chikli, who ended the letter by calling Francis “a dear friend of the Jewish people”, asked the pope “to clarify your position regarding the new accusation of genocide against the Jewish state”.

The Pope in the book excerpts published by Italian daily La Stampa, said some international experts said that “what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide”.

“We should investigate carefully to assess whether this fits into the technical definition [of genocide] formulated by international jurists and organisations,” the Pope said.

Intersetingly, Pope Francis is not the only one accusing Israel of committing Genocide in Gaza. The United Nations, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), U.S.-based Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention and a number of ther academics.

The Netanyahu-led extremist regime is already facing charges of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

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