Under international law, Israel is committing state terror: 4-time U.S. presidential candidate

Israel’s actions in Gaza are a textbook example of state terrorism, said Ralph Nader, a famed consumer activist and four-time U.S. presidential candidate, denouncing Israel’s attacks on civilians.

Speaking to Anadolu in an interview, Nader discussed Israel’s Gaza offensive, charges against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and U.S. support for Tel Aviv’s actions.

Nader emphasized that the events in Gaza began not last Oct. 7 but 70 years ago, when Israel was founded, displacing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.

In the current conflict, the number of innocent civilians killed and injured on the Palestinian side is 400 times greater than on the Israeli side, he said-over 36,500 Palestinians killed compared to fewer than 1,500 Israelis, according to widely cited figures, though Nader later said there were many more Palestinian deaths.

“So who’s the terrorist? The Israeli state terror meets every international law definition. Attacking across the board day after day, defenseless citizens, children, infants, babies, mothers, fathers, elderly, the sick, the disabled, it doesn’t matter. They’re all being attacked,” said Nader.

He criticized Israel for targeting residential buildings, hospitals, schools, universities, refugee camps, and agricultural areas in Gaza.

“They’re using starvation as a weapon. The apartments, homes, buildings destroyed, every university in Gaza destroyed, libraries destroyed, this is an across-the-board genocide against the Palestinian people, their culture and their right to live. And the genocidal intent is so clear,” he stated.

Citing statements by Israeli Cabinet ministers calling Palestinians “human animals” and declaring Israel’s intent to cut off their food, water, and electricity, Nader said: “Those are genocidal words that have been turned into military orders to one of the most powerful military forces in the world against an utterly defenseless civilian population.”

About the collapse of Israeli border security on Oct. 8, when Hamas launched a cross-border attack killing some 1,200 people, Nader said: “We don’t have the full facts. So we’re left with speculation.”