The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas has replied to the “shocking” EU’s resolution on the situation in the Gaza Strip, which was issued on 18 April 2018.

In a letter sent to the President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani, Hamas said that it was “shocked and dismayed” by the resolution despite including many positive points such as condemning killing innocent civilians, recognising right to peaceful protest and calling for conducting a probe in deliberate killing of nonviolent demonstrators.

The Islamic Palestinian Movement also hailed the resolution’s call for lifting the siege imposed by the Israeli occupation on Gaza after shedding the light on the “catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza, in particular, the health sector.”

However, Hamas was disappointed as the EU parliament favoured the Israeli narrative about the situation in Palestine and ignored the reality on the ground, noting that the Palestinians hope to see the EU, which “directly contributed” to the reason of their suffering to strongly voice political and material support after 70 years on their Nakba.

In its letter, Hamas noted that the EU said that Hamas is enlisted a terror group by the EU, but did not mention that it was a popular movement that achieved overwhelming majority in the last fair and free elections carried in occupied territories and the EU was among the monitors.

The EU, Hamas said, did not mention that the ongoing demonstrations in Gaza aims to push forward to carrying out a UN resolution related to the return of Palestine refugees which was issued 70 years ago and remained in drawers, as well as to break an 11-year-old Israeli siege imposed on Gaza.

According to its letter, Hamas wondered about the EU democracy as the EU did not recognise the results of the fair elections immediately after it was announced that Hamas was the winner. “It is a strange lesson in democracy that you have taught us: we must elect who you want, or else we will be punished.”

Hamas was not happy that the EU accused it of launching, carrying out terrorist operations and inciting demonstrators to cross the borders without any evidence. However, the EU ignored that Hamas, as part of many other supporters of the demonstrations, stressed that they must remain peaceful.

The EU statement held Hamas responsible for the tragic humanitarian situation in Gaza, and, according to Hamas, “it deliberately ignores Israel’s overarching culpability,” noting that Israel is legally the occupying power in Gaza and still controlling land, air and sea access to it. 

It stressed that the Israeli siege “constitutes collective punishment of our people that amounts to a crime against humanity,” regretting the EU via the Quartet has lent legitimacy to Israel’s criminal blockade.

At the same time, the EU mentioned the couple of Israeli captives in Gaza, but ignored more than 6,000 Palestinians inside Israeli jails, with hundreds of women, children and sick. In addition to hundreds held without trials in violation of all international laws and conventions.

The EU resolution, Hamas noted, highlighted the Israeli right to protect its borders, but ignored that these claimed borders are encircling more than 2 million Palestinians in “the largest open-air prison” in the world as had been described by the former UK Prime Minister David Cameron.

Hamas regretted that the EU did not mention its efforts to achieve a Palestinian reconciliation and its support for establishing a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, but continued to describe it a violent and terrorist movement.

Concluding its letter, Hamas called for the EU to stop the ongoing massacre carried out by the Israeli occupation snipers against the peaceful protesters along the eastern Gaza borders.

The largest Palestinian movement also hoped that the EU takes “practical steps to pressure the occupying power to respect the international law, in particular, our right to freedom, independence and self-determination.”

It also hoped that the EU “will enact concrete mechanisms and procedures to end the human tragedy resulting from Israel’s immoral, illegal, and inhuman siege of Gaza, immediately and unconditionally."

Click here to read the full letter.