CNN –
Paddy Cosgrave, the chief executive of Web Summit, resigned on Saturday after several Big Tech companies pulled out of the company’s upcoming annual technology conference over his comments on the Israel-Hamas war.
“Unfortunately, my personal comments created a distraction from the event and our team, our sponsors, our startups and the people in attendance,” Cosgrave said in a statement to CNN. “I once again sincerely apologize for the harm I have caused.”
His resignation comes just over a week after the comments Posted on X, formerly Twitter, condemns Israel’s war in Gaza. On October 13, he wrote, among other things: “War crimes are war crimes, even when committed by allies, and should be held accountable as such.”
Cosgrave also condemned the October 7 attacks by Hamas militants, which authorities said killed an estimated 1,400 people in Israel.
In the two weeks since the attacks, Israeli forces have bombarded Gaza with relentless airstrikes, killing at least 4,385 people in the Hamas-controlled coastal enclave and plunging the enclave into a humanitarian crisis, according to the Health Ministry.
A day before Cosgrave’s post on The Israeli military says it is not targeting civilians and has warned residents to evacuate parts of the Gaza Strip.
On Tuesday, Cosgrave posted a nearly 600-word statement on the Web Summit blog to apologize and clarify his position.
“I unreservedly condemn Hamas’s evil, heinous and monstrous attack on October 7th. I also demand the unconditional release of all hostages,” he wrote. “I unreservedly support Israel’s right to exist and self-defense. I clearly support a two-state solution. … I also believe that Israel should adhere to international law and the Geneva Conventions in its defense – that is, it should not commit war crimes.”
However, his initial comments were met with strong backlash from tech giants such as Google parent Alphabet, Meta, Siemens and Amazon, all of which pulled out of the conference. This year’s conference was scheduled for November 13-16 in Lisbon.
CNN has reached out to these companies but has not received a response.
A spokesperson for Web Summit told CNN that the company will name a new CEO as soon as possible. “The Web Summit 2023 in Lisbon will take place as planned,” the spokesperson added.
Cosgrave, 41, co-founded Web Summit in 2009 with David Kelly and Daire Hickey.