Mr. Antonio Tajani

President

European Parliament

Reply to the resolution of the European Parliament on the Situation in the Gaza Strip

Dear Mr. President,

We, in the Islamic Resistance Movement - Hamas, are shocked and dismayed by the thrust of the European Parliament resolution issued on April 18, 2018, regarding the situation in Gaza (2018/2663 (RSP)).

We are of course mindful of and welcome the positive elements in your statement, for example: your condemnation of the killing of innocent civilians; your emphasis on the right of the Palestinian people to protest peacefully; and your call for the creation of an impartial committee to investigate the deliberate killing of nonviolent demonstrators. 

In addition, your statement sheds light on the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza, in particular, the health sector, and rightly calls on Israel to lift the siege immediately and unconditionally. 

However, we are disappointed by the bias in your statement that favours the Israeli narrative at the expense of the basic rights of our people.

Fully seventy years after the Palestinian Nakba and fully fifty years after the inception of the Israeli occupation, we reasonably expected strong political, legal and material support for our people, so that at long last we can enjoy our fundamental rights of freedom, independence and decent living conditions. 

We reasonably expected that Europe, which contributed directly to the historic disaster we suffered, would take practical steps to enforce international resolutions in order to end the occupation and help establish a Palestinian state.  

But in your statement, you have chosen to stand by the executioner instead of the victims, and to uphold the law of the jungle that privileges might over right.

First, your statement touches on many wholly irrelevant issues designed to prejudice public opinion against us, such as rocket fire and tunnels emanating from Gaza, and the fact that Hamas is on the European “terrorism” list.

Second, your statement omits, intentionally, mention of the dual objectives of our demonstrations: the right of return and breaking the siege. 

After waiting seven decades for the international community to implement UN resolutions—the foremost of which is UNGA resolution 194—the whole of the Palestinian people has united to demonstrate peacefully in order to demand implementation of our inalienable rights.

Third, whereas your statement emphasises that the marches of the Great Return are a civil society initiative, it accuses Hamas and holds it responsible for alleged violent escalations (rocket fire, terrorist operations, border crossings) without a shred of evidence.  Instead of repeating Israeli talking points, shouldn’t you commend and encourage our commitment to nonviolent resistance? 

In fact, all members of the march coalition, including Hamas, have urged demonstrators, orally and in different written publications, to remain peaceful in the face of Israel’s murderous provocations, even as we have the right under international law to resist occupation with all means.

Fourth, whereas your statement emphasises that Hamas is labelled a “terrorist” organisation by the European Union, you omit to mention that Hamas is a national liberation movement that was elected into office by the majority of the Palestinian people in free and fair democratic elections, and that the EU immediately imposed brutal sanctions on Gazans to penalise them for electing Hamas into office.  

It is a strange lesson in democracy that you have taught us: we must elect who you want us to elect, or else we will be punished.

Fifth, your statement alleges that Hamas is responsible for the tragic humanitarian situation in Gaza.  It deliberately ignores Israel’s overarching culpability. Israel is legally the occupying power in Gaza.  Israel still controls land, air and sea access to Gaza.  The Israeli siege constitutes collective punishment of our people that amounts to a crime against humanity.  Regrettably, the EU via the Quartet has lent legitimacy to Israel’s criminal blockade. 

Consider these statements by respected organisations and individuals:

• The 2015 UN Human Rights Council report by former New York State judge Mary McGowan Davis stated that "the blockade of Gaza by Israel is strangling Gaza's economy and imposing severe restrictions on Palestinian rights."  The Davis report called on Israel to lift the blockade on Gaza "immediately and unconditionally."
• Human Rights Watch concluded that the blockade "constitutes collective punishment of the civilian population and a serious violation of international humanitarian law," while Amnesty International stated that "it is a form of collective punishment and that the ongoing Israeli blockade of Gaza is a flagrant violation of international law."
• A 2010 International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) report stated that "the total closure imposed by Israel for years in the Gaza Strip constitutes a violation of international law."
• Former UK Prime Minister David Cameron described the Gaza Strip as “the largest open-air prison in the world.”

Sixth, the resolution spoke about the prisoners by resistance and the need to return them to their families, but it makes no mention of the thousands of Palestinians in Israeli jails, hundreds of them children, women and sick prisoners, and hundreds of others confined in Israeli jails without charges or trial.  Your statement also did not mention the bodies of hundreds of Palestinian martyrs who are still held by Israel in the “cemetery of numbers,” as Israel refuses to hand them over to their families.

Seventh, whereas your statement speaks to the security needs of the Occupier and its right to protect its borders, it does not condemn Israel as the occupying power for its crimes against our people.  

We have the inalienable right to break through the gates of this giant prison.  

Your statement also adopts the Israeli narrative as it speaks of a benign “fence” separating Israel and Gaza, whereas it is in fact a prison gate incarcerating our people—including one million children—in an area that UN agencies have described as virtually “unlivable.”  

Eighth, Hamas has repeatedly stressed that reconciliation and Palestinian unity constitute a strategic goal and supreme Palestinian interest, and that they must be built on solid democratic foundations—in particular, democratic elections.  Hamas continues to welcome any and all efforts to end national division and achieve reconciliation and unity.

Moreover, in a political document issued in May 2017, Hamas affirmed its readiness to support the Palestinian political process that leads to the establishment of a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital while preserving our right of return. 

On a related point, the security forces in Gaza began immediately to investigate the recent assassination attempt against Palestinian Prime Minister Rami al-Hamdallah, and to identify possible suspects.  The Prime Minister has been kept abreast of all developments and Hamas has called on him to send a security delegation to participate in the investigation. Hamas has stressed that it will not hesitate to bring the perpetrators to justice regardless of their party affiliation. 

In conclusion, Israel’s killing and maiming of our people continues as these words are written. The number of martyrs since the marches began now stands at 41, including 2 distinguished journalists, and many children, while more than 5,100 Gazans have been wounded, some critically and others permanently disabled.

The EU must act forthrightly and firmly to end Israel’s massacre of our unarmed people.

We still dare to hope that your position will be fair and equitable, recognising the fundamental rights of our people. Indeed, Europe is geographically close to Palestine and so has a material stake in the repercussions and outcome of the conflict. 

We still dare to hope that you will take practical steps to pressure the Occupying Power to respect international law, in particular, our right to freedom, independence, self-determination.

We still dare to hope that you 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.9 

The situation in Gaza is now so dire that it may explode at any moment. The people of Gaza will not resign themselves to die in silence.  

We hope and pray that you will use your good offices to avert an impending tragedy that can be still be averted if the European Union fulfills its moral, legal and political responsibilities.  

Sincerely,

The Islamic Resistance Movement of Hamas

Gaza – Palestine