Berlusconi in hot water over Gaza ‘suffering’

By Tobias Buck in Jerusalem

Published: February 4 2010

Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister, courted fresh controversy on Wednesday by comparing the plight of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to the suffering of victims of the Holocaust.

After an official visit to Israel, Mr Berlusconi said in the Palestinian city of Bethlehem that, “just as it is right to cry for the victims of the Shoah [the Holocaust], it is right to show pain for what happened in Gaza”.

The remark, which appeared to link Israel’s war against the Hamas-controlled territory last year with the murder of millions of Jews in Nazi concentration camps, will be seen as offensive by many in Israel, even if no provocation was intended.

Mr Berlusconi is regarded as a staunch ally of the Jewish state. He has repeatedly spoken out against the dangers of Holocaust denial, and publicly defended Israel’s actions in Gaza as “justified”.

The Italian leader has also called for Israel to be admitted to the European Union, hailing the country on Wednesday as “not only the biggest example of democracy and liberty in the Middle East, but the only example”.

A spokesman for Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, declined to comment on Mr Berlusconi’s remarks in Bethlehem. Mr Netanyahu told the Italian leader this week: “I don’t think there’s a better friend [of Israel] in the international community.”

It is not the first time that Mr Berlusconi has raised eyebrows with remarks about the Holocaust. In the European parliament in 2003 the prime minister told a German deputy he would be “perfect” for the role of a concentration camp guard – a remark he later said was intended to be ironic.

Mr Berlusconi has also faced criticism for insensitive remarks about the skin colour of Barack Obama, US president, and the victims of an Italian earthquake.

His comments about the Gaza war come at a particularly sensitive time. Israel is engaged in a diplomatic and legal effort to counter a United Nations report that accuses both Israel and Hamas of war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity during last year’s conflict in Gaza.

Ban Ki-moon, UN secretary-general, is due to tell the general assembly on Friday whether the parties have complied with the report’s recommendations, notably the establishment of an independent investigation into the allegations. Israel rejects the report and has until now refused to allow an independent probe into the war.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010.

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