Ursula von der Leyen says ‘Israel has right to defend itself’ with no mention of international law Michael Higgins: ‘We need better performance in relation to EU diplomacy and practice’ LONDON: Ireland’s president has slammed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for comments on the Gaza conflict, calling for “better performance” from EU leadership. Speaking at the World Food Forum in Rome, Michael Higgins joined a mounting chorus of criticism against von der Leyen’s failure to demand that Israel ensure it complies with international humanitarian law in its response to the Hamas attack of Oct. 7. Israel commenced airstrikes against the Gaza Strip almost immediately following the attack, killing more than 3,700 Palestinians and injuring 12,500 in a little over 10 days of bombing. Following a tweet from von der Leyen in which she said “Israel has the right to defend itself” without reference to its legal obligations, Higgins said she “was not speaking for Ireland and she was not speaking for the opinions that they hold.” Von der Leyen also said “I know that how Israel responds will show that it is a democracy,” again without reference to its legal obligations. So far, that response has included cutting off Gaza’s 2.3 million inhabitants — around half of whom are children — from food, water, fuel and electricity, leaving hospitals close to collapse. Ireland’s Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has said Israel is pursuing “collective punishment.” Higgins said: “I don’t know where the source of those decisions (from von der Leyen) was. I don’t know where the legitimation for it was and I don’t know where the authority for it is and I don’t think it was helpful.” He added: “It may not have been meant to have malevolent consequences but certainly we need a better performance in relation to European Union diplomacy and practice.” With airstrikes against Gaza continuing, more than a million people have fled their homes in the north, with the UN saying 60 percent of them are in an 8-mile area south of the evacuation zone. Higgins said were Israel to pursue its stated intentions, international law intended to protect civilians during conflict would be left in “tatters.” He added: “It’s one thing, when we look at historic breaches of international law, that is incredibly bad, but to actually announce in advance that you’re going to break international law, and that you announce it again and again, and that you do so on an innocent population.” He said: “I have thought about it, and I think that it really reduces all that code that was there from WW2 through the Geneva Conventions about protection of civilians, it reduces it to tatters.”