Israel will not be participating in Lisbon’s Web Summit following statements by its co-founder, Paddy Cosgrave, who accused Israelis of committing war crimes in their fight against Hamas, Israel’s Ambassador to Portugal, Dor Shapira, revealed on Monday.
Shapira said that he informed the mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, that his country will miss one of the world’s biggest technology conferences due to Cosgrave’s “outrageous statements”.
“Dozens of companies have already cancelled their participation in this conference and we encourage others to do so,” the diplomat tweeted on X.
In response, Cosgrave wrote a post on X that resulted in a wave of criticism among several heads of Israeli technology companies on Friday.
“I am impressed by the rhetoric and actions of so many Western leaders and governments, with the particular exception of the Government of Ireland, who, for the first time, are doing the right thing. War crimes are war crimes even when committed by allies, and they must be denounced for what they are,” said Cosgrave.
In response, the Israeli ambassador argued that “even in these difficult times” Cosgrave was “unable to put aside his extremist political views and denounce Hamas’ terrorist activities against innocent people”. “We must have zero tolerance for acts of terrorism and terror,” Shapira added.
Many X users also reacted to Cosgrave’s posts with criticism, sharing the hashtag #cancelwebsummit.
After his original comment, Cosgrave published other messages in which he stated that the actions of the Islamist group Hamas are “outrageous and disgusting” and “a monstrous act of evil” and that, although Israel has the right to defend itself, it does not have the right to “violate international law”.
“We are devastated to see the terrible deaths and the level of innocent civilian casualties in Israel and Gaza. We condemn the Hamas attacks and express our deepest condolences to all those who have lost loved ones. We look forward to a peaceful reconciliation,” Cosgrave said on Monday.
In this latest message, the entrepreneur received numerous replies “too late”.
Founded in 2009, the Web Summit has been hosted by Lisbon since 2016 and welcomed more than 71,000 people from 160 countries last year. This year, it will run from 13 to 16 November.
On 7 October, the Islamist group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel with the launch of thousands of rockets and the incursion of armed militiamen by land, sea and air.
In response, Israel has been bombing various Hamas infrastructures in the Gaza Strip and has imposed a siege on the territory, cutting off water, fuel and electricity supplies.
The attacks have caused thousands of deaths and injuries in both territories.
Tel Aviv has been massing troops near the Gaza Strip, an enclave controlled by the Islamist group since 2007, in preparation for a probable offensive against Hamas.
(Diogo Caldas, edited by Cristina Cardoso | Lusa.pt)
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