A former European Union envoy to Gaza is coming under fire for allegedly authorizing Hamas to use paragliders, the same devices used by Palestinian terrorists to invade Israel and kill more than 1,400 people.
Sven Kühn von Burgsdorff, a German diplomat, boasted in a video in July that he was performing “the first Gaza paragliding flight in history” as he flew over the Gaza coast while shouting, “Free Palestine!”
The giddy then-EU envoy told the Palestinians in the footage that once they are free, “you can do exactly the same thing.”
But instead of seeing Palestinians enjoy recreational paragliding as he advocated, Hamas used those gliders to kill Israelis on October 7.
Israel has since declared war on Hamas and launched devastating airstrikes on Gaza, prompting von Burgsdorff to condemn the Jewish state, stating that “it doesn’t matter what Hamas has done,” Israel Hayom reported.
“It cannot be that Israel has carte blanche because terrible, cruel and horrific acts happened to 1,000 or even 1,200 Israelis,” von Burgsdorff said during a recent radio interview. “This is not the excuse that can be used to raze Gaza.”
Sven Kühn von Burgsdorff, former European Union envoy to Gaza, made the “first paragliding flight to Gaza” in July while shouting, “Free Palestine!” @BenCaspit /X
The former diplomat found himself in the middle of the debate surrounding the war between Israel and Hamas after video resurfaced of him flying over the skies of Gaza in July, claiming that Palestinians could enjoy things like paragliding and kayaking if Israel put an end to its blockade.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry condemned the spectacle at the time as a “provocative” form of propaganda that only serves to empower Hamas.
“The European diplomat long ago forgot that he represents the European Union and its member states,” the ministry said in a statement.
Von Burgsdorff said he wanted Palestinians to enjoy sports such as paragliding once their conflict with Israel ends. @BenCaspit / X The diplomat’s flight over the coast of Gaza was condemned by Israel as propaganda.@BenCaspit / X
“[He] “It continues to represent the Palestinian narrative and is a propaganda tool in the hands of the terrorist organizations that control Gaza.”
A representative of the EU delegation to the Palestinians told Reuters that the paraglider used in the stunt belonged to von Burgsdorff.
Von Burgsdorff left his post in Gaza in August, but has continued to voice his opposition to Israel’s actions in the Palestinian territory, most recently involving airstrikes.
The paraglider was not used by Palestinian civilians after the then-diplomat’s video, but was instead used by Hamas terrorists to invade Israel on October 7 and kill hundreds of innocent people. AFP via Getty Images
With more than 4,700 Palestinians murdered since October 7, the diplomat said in the radio interview that nothing justifies “the]use of such lethal force without distinction and proportionality with regard to the Palestinian population in Gaza.
“It cannot be that Israel is threatening to bomb corridors and shipments carrying humanitarian equipment. It just can’t be. If it happens, it would be another war crime,” he added.
Von Burgsdorff did not condemn the Hamas attack in Israel that targeted hundreds of innocent civilians, many of them women and children, and also involved the kidnapping of more than 200 people, including at least a dozen Americans.
Von Burgsdorff could not immediately be reached for comment.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn