A former European Union diplomat filmed himself hovering over Gaza saying: ‘Once we have a free Palestine, you can do the same’ – three months before Hamas terrorists flew into Israel to carry out a bloody invasion.
Sven Kühn von Burgsdorff, EU envoy to Palestine until August, said he was paragliding off the Mediterranean coast to “raise awareness about the besieged Palestinian enclave.”
Just three months after the stunt, the area’s rulers, Hamas, launched an attack on Israel from land, sea and air, prompting retaliatory airstrikes by Israel that have destroyed large parts of the impoverished enclave.
In the years before the conflict broke out, the densely populated strip of land was subject to blockades by Israel – which Mr von Burgsdorff suggests in the resurfaced video, preventing Palestinians and visitors from enjoying sporting activities.
Dressed in a T-shirt with the EU flag, the German diplomat excitedly boasted in the video that he had completed the “first Gaza paragliding flight in history.”
Former EU diplomat Sven Kühn von Burgsdorff said he was paragliding off the coast of Gaza to ‘raise awareness of the besieged Palestinian enclave’
The paragliding equipment belonged to the envoy, an EU spokesman said at the time
Wearing a T-shirt with the EU flag, the German diplomat excitedly boasted in the video that he had completed the “first Gaza paragliding flight in history.”
One of the paragliders took off before being joined by the other members of the Hamas group
At first he struggled to take off, waiting for the wind to fill the parachute and take him off the ground, getting help from his team and locals.
After taking to the air and returning safely to the cliff, he said the feat proved, “You can fly here, you can kayak, you can ride horses, you can swim, you can surf.” Everything is possible in Gaza.
“Once we have a free Palestine, a free Gaza, you can do exactly the same. And that’s the reason I did this, to show you the way forward, to work for it.”
The paragliding equipment belonged to the envoy, an EU spokesman said at the time, suggesting he managed to pass border security thanks to his diplomatic immunity.
Mr von Burgsdorff was in the air at 50 meters for at least five minutes, the spokesman said, before adding that Israel was not aware of “the purely local and sporting activities”.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry labeled the stunt a “provocative action” and accused Von Burgsdorff of “representing the Palestinian narrative” instead of the EU.
Mr. von Burgsdorff recently came under fire for comments he made about Israel’s response to Hamas’s Oct. 7 terrorist attacks, in which 1,400 Israelis were killed and more than 220 taken hostage.
He told Democracy Now that while he understands the “despair” and “emotional tension” in Israel over the terrorists’ invasion, they must adhere to international law in their retaliation.
“Whatever Hamas has done, it does not justify the incredible use of lethal force, indiscriminately and without proportionality, as far as the Palestinian population in Gaza is concerned.
Mr von Burgsdorff was 50 meters in the air for at least five minutes, an EU spokesman said, adding that Israel was not aware of “the purely local and sporting activities”.
‘Distinction, proportionality and precaution are sacred principles for the code of conduct in armed hostilities. And Israel, as a democracy, cannot escape this and must be held accountable.
“It cannot be that Israel has carte blanche because terrible acts, brutal, heinous acts have happened to 1,000 or even 1,200 Israelis. That is not the excuse you can use to shut down Gaza.”
While criticizing Israel’s brutal attack on the Gaza Strip, Mr. von Burgsdorff failed to condemn Hamas’ attack on Israeli civilians.
Hamas fighters from the ‘Falcon’ squadron were seen walking through the sand at dawn carrying the equipment to be used in the operation
According to the Israeli army, Hamas fighters have bypassed Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip with paragliders (photo: a paraglider entering Israel)
Young festival-goers had danced and enjoyed the Nova festival on the Gaza border on October 7, completely unaware that members of the militant Hamas group were about to descend from the sky and spread terror.
In a video released days later, Hamas fighters were seen training for their deadly paraglider attack.
It showed them landing with weapons drawn before infiltrating mock buildings marked with the Jewish Star of David.
More than 4,600 people have been killed and more than 14,000 injured in Gaza since October 7, according to the Hamas-run health authority in the area.
Israeli warplanes continued to attack targets in Gaza, as well as two airports in Syria, throughout the weekend and into Monday morning, according to local media.
Meanwhile, around 95 people are believed to have been killed in the occupied West Bank, where a mosque allegedly used by terrorists was bombed by Israeli forces last weekend.
