The Israeli embassy to the Holy See
comments on the statement of the Vatican Secretary of State, Card.
Pietro Parolin, who spoke of a "disproportionate" response to the Hamas attack.
"This
is a regrettable statement
. Judging the legitimacy of a war without taking into account ALL relevant circumstances and data inevitably leads to erroneous conclusions," the embassy wrote in a statement.
The Israeli embassy to the Holy See refers to the words spoken by card.
Parolin on the occasion of the anniversary of the Lateran Pacts.
Among the "relevant circumstances and data", which the Secretary of State should have considered, for the embassy is the fact that "Gaza has been transformed by Hamas into the largest terrorist base ever seen. There is almost no infrastructure civilian that has not been used by Hamas for its criminal plans, including hospitals, schools, places of worship and many others."
Then: "Much of Hamas' 'project', i.e. the construction of this unprecedented terrorist infrastructure, was actively supported by the local civilian population. The civilians of Gaza - the embassy continues - also actively participated in the October 7 unprovoked invasion into Israeli territory, killing, raping and taking civilians hostage. All these acts are defined as war crimes."
The IDF's military operations, the note continues, "are carried out in full compliance with international law".
"According to available data, for every Hamas militant killed, three civilians lost their lives. All civilian victims are to be mourned, but in past wars and operations by NATO forces or Western forces in Syria, Iraq or Afghanistan, the proportion it was 9 or 10 civilians for every terrorist. Therefore, the percentage of the IDF in attempting to avoid the death of civilians is approximately 3 times higher, despite the battlefield in Gaza being much more complicated, as already mentioned", he reports again the note.
For the Israeli Embassy to the Holy See "any objective observer cannot help but come to the conclusion that the responsibility for the death and destruction in Gaza lies with Hamas and Hamas alone. This is forgotten too often and too easily. It is not enough to condemn the genocidal massacre of October 7 and then point the finger at Israel by referring to its right to existence and self-defense only as a simple duty and not considering the bigger picture."
"For the Holy See, the choice of side is always that of the victims
. And therefore for the Israelis massacred at home in the kibbutzim while they were preparing to celebrate the day of Simchat Torah, for the hostages taken from their families, as for the innocent civilians — a third of them children — killed by the bombings in Gaza - is the content of a front-page editorial in the Osservatore Romano after yesterday's words by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin -. No one can define what is happening in the Strip. collateral damage' of the fight against terrorism. The right to defence, Israel's right to bring those responsible for the October massacre to justice, cannot justify this carnage."
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