A speech by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was briefly interrupted on Wednesday by a man who accused her of being a "criminal" over her support for Israel, Euronews reported.

Von der Leyen was about to deliver a speech at the European Defense and Security Summit when she was abruptly interrupted by a man who stood up and directed accusations at her.

"Mrs. von der Leyen, this is a citizen's arrest! You are charged with aiding genocide in Gaza!" the man is heard saying.

"You have expressed total support for Israel at the beginning of this genocide! The blood of Palestinian children is on your hands!" he added.

At that moment, another person approached the man, who continued shouting while he was removed from the room.

"You are a criminal, Mrs. von der Leyen! You should be at the Hague! You should not be here. You should not be looking for a second term! You are war -- you are a criminal! Free Palestine! Free Palestine!" the man continued shouting.

Von der Leyen, who stood still and showed no reaction during the unexpected occurrence, then began her intervention by thanking her hosts for the invitation.

The man who interrupted her later identified himself as David Cronin, an associate editor at The Electronic Intifada. In a post defending his "citizen's arrest," Cronin doubled down on her criticism of von der Leyen, saying "her enabling of genocide is despicable."