OPINION
Now, if you were a Lycian envoy who had visited the Greek camp to teach them carpentry, King Priam would probably have wanted a word with you when a giant wooden horse subsequently appeared outside the gates. When Greek soldiers came pouring out of it, you can really bet he’d be after you with a red hot poker.
Which brings us to Sven Kuhn von Burgsdorff.
Von Burgsdorff is a German diplomat who was, until recently, EU envoy to Gaza. Now, both the EU and Germany are treaty partners of Israel. In what, in retrospect, was generously dubbed a “provocative act”, von Bergsdorff allegedly used his diplomatic immunity to smuggle illegal paragliding equipment into Gaza three months ago.
Such gear is prescribed by Israel’s blockade, and for good reason.
A small airport inaugurated in 1998 during interim peace talks was destroyed three years later by Israeli forces, which regularly intercept rockets, drones and even flammable material-carrying balloons launched by Palestinians across the border.
Clearly, though, none of that mattered to the EU diplomat.
Then he proudly taught Gazans how to paraglide.
Video posted online by the European Union Delegation to the Palestinians showed Sven Kühn von Burgsdorff floating off a sandy 7 metre (21 foot) cliff and over the Mediterranean sea after an initial struggle to fill his canopy with enough wind.
Reuters
In words loaded with ominous portent, in retrospect, von Bergsdorff declared that his stunt was, “To show you the way forward”.
As we all know, Gaza’s rulers, Hamas, took his words to heart.
And put their paragliding expertise to horrific use.
At least 1,300 Israelis were murdered in Hamas terror attack which used dozens of such paraglides […]
For years, Israel has been trying to prevent the import of goods and equipment that might be used for terrorist activities against it. In hindsight, it is clear to what extent Hamas activists and commanders used these civilian products for terrorist purposes […]
Only three months after that “first and historic” flight of the European envoy, it is clear why and to what extent it was so important for Israel to try to prevent such flying equipment from entering the Strip, and why it condemned that “sporting activity.” As of now, at least 1,300 Israelis have been murdered in Hamas October 7th attack, which included an infiltration to Israel using dozens of paragliders.
Forbes
Which naturally begs the question: why did he do it?
Because one thing’s for sure: Hamas’ bloody terror raid was planned for far longer than three months. Was the German diplomat a catspaw dupe, or was his stunt more sinister?
In his defence, captured Hamas operatives confessed nearly a decade ago that they were training in paragliding for launching attacks.
Still, it’s plain where his sympathies lie.
He has gone further in his criticism of Israel than just about any Western representative, including accusing the IDF last month of using disproportionate force against Palestinians during a counter-terror raid in the Jenin refugee camp. At a May event hosted by his mission to mark Europe Day, he told the hundreds in attendance that “growing concern about what more and more people around the world see as the crime of apartheid will keep the unresolved Palestinian cause on the international agenda” […]
“one should not suppress the discussion of whether what we’re seeing on the ground constitutes the crime of apartheid.”
Times of Israel
Far from shamed by the, shall we say, “coincidence” of his actions and what followed, von Bergsdorff attacked Israel’s retaliation against the Hamas murderers, claiming that the butchery of “1,000 or even 1,200 Israelis” was “no excuse”.
Von Burgsdorff has since retired as a diplomat.