President Lee Jae-Myung Condemns Israel for Treatment on Palestinians

South Korean President Lee Jae-Myung has condemned Israel for their treatment of Palestinians by releasing a video showing violence on the Palestinian people by the Israeli army. In the video, there were three Palestinians that were thrown off a rooftop. 

Furthermore, President Lee had compared the treatment to the Holocaust. He wrote on X formally Twitter, “I need to look into whether this is true, and if so, what measures were taken. The forced sexual servitude of ‘comfort women’—which we have taken issue with—is no different from the Holocaust or wartime atrocities.” 

Stephan Haggard, professor at University of California at San Diego, said that forced prostitution of women is a crime that involved a massive machinery that both private actors and state played a role and also mentioned how Oct. 7, 2023 was a terrorist attack by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. 

“While the completely disproportionate killing in Gaza and the West Bank is the result of October 7 and unfortunate political developments in Israel that have allowed for a kind of ethnic cleansing if not genocide to occur,” Haggard said. “Putting these all together might make cosmic sense; all are types of unjust killing.”

The Israeli Foreign Ministry had responded back on X saying, “The remarks by the president of Korea, Lee Jae-Myung, including the trivialization of the massacre of Jews on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel, are unacceptable and warrant strong condemnation.” 

Meanwhile, Israel has been criticized for their actions in Lebanon with Hezbollah and the war in Gaza. U.S. President Donald Trump said that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to have a 10-day ceasefire with a confirmation from the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu that the country participated in a truce. 

Recently on Monday, it was reported that a 68-year-old elderly woman was beaten to death by Israeli soldiers after they raided her home and prevented a Palestinian ambulance from coming to take her to the hospital.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry also said that President Lee, as a current event, decided to dig up a story from 2024 and present a fake account and spread disinformation about Israel. They also claimed it was an operation against terrorists and the Israeli soldiers were fearing for their life in that event. 

But Lee had acknowledged that the video was taken in 2024 and that Israel conducted investigations and took measures. But the Israeli forces hardly face accountability for the exploitation of Palestinians. 

In addition, the South Korean foreign ministry expressed regrets that the Israeli Foreign Ministry misread the intent of President Lee`s remarks as he expressed his judgement on human rights concerns rather than an opinion on a certain issue. Prior to becoming the President of South Korea, Lee Jay Myung was a human rights lawyer. 

“I think saying something about it is in line with a values-based diplomacy, but I guess I wouldn’t have done it in this particular way; rather something more anodyne like ‘South Korea has a material and moral interest in seeing the fighting in the Middle East stop,’” said Haggard.

While over 80 countries earlier this year have called out Israel and President Benjamin Netanyahu for their crimes on Palestine, it is not common for a world leader from East Asia to call out Israel for their crimes on Palestine making President Lee the first world leader from that region. 

It is also reported that on the Strait of Hormuz, there were 26 South Korean ships that were stranded carrying around 136 Korean nationals and 600 crew members. In those ships, they carried automobiles and crude oil and had ties to the U.S exposing them to scrutiny by Iran.

According to Korea JoongAng Daily, “No serious harm to the crew has been reported so far, though some are said to be suffering from trauma after witnessing airstrikes unfold at close range. But the financial toll is mounting, with each isolated vessel reportedly incurring costs of up to $1.43 million per day.” 

Earlier this week, Israel remembered the 6 million Jews that were killed by Nazis during the Holocaust marking it Yom HaShoah. Yom HaShoah is usually remembered during Spring on 27th day of Nisan which is on the Hebrew calendar. This year it was remembered from April 13-14.