E.U. Chief Says Comments on Toulouse, Gaza ‘Distorted’
The European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton denied Tuesday that she intended to parallel Monday’s attack on a Jewish school in Toulouse, saying that he comments were “grossly distorted.”
Ashton’s remarks came amid backlash to comments she had made at a conference titled “Palestine Refugees in the changing Middle East” following the deadly shooting attack in the south of France.
Speaking at the event, the EU’s foreign minister said all should remember the young people who have been killed in all sorts of terrible circumstances – the Belgian children having lost their lives in a terrible tragedy and when we think of what happened in Toulouse today, when we remember what happened in Norway a year ago, when we know what is happening in Syria, when we see what is happening in Gaza and in different parts of the world – we remember young people and children who lose their lives.”
Ashton’s comments, perceived as linking the attack in Toulouse and civilian deaths in Gaza, drew strong condemnation from Israeli officials.
For more, go to Haaretz.com
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