The European Parliament Recognizes Israel’s Right to Self-Defense

On Thursday 19 October, the vast majority of the European Parliament adopted joint motion for a resolution in which it “condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the despicable terrorists attacks committed by the terrorist group Hamas against Israel and expresses its support for the State of Israel and its people.” It reiterates also “that the terrorist organization Hamas needs to be eliminated.” The ECLJ intervened before the vote to stress a number of important points to MEPs. Thus, the European Parliament “calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages who have been taken by the terrorist group Hamas and for the bodies of deceased hostages to be returned.” It also recognizes “Israel’s right to self-defense, as enshrined in and constrained by international law.”

The ECLJ had also urged MEPs to condemn and call for a halt to all European Commission subsidies to organizations supporting Hamas, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) or operating within the Muslim Brotherhood. Following this logic, the European Parliament “urges the Commission to initiate a thorough review of all EU financial assistance to Palestine and the region in order to ensure that no EU funds directly or indirectly finance any terrorist organization.” It also “calls on the Commission to provide the results to Parliament in its role as the budgetary authority as soon as possible.”

Indeed, ECLJ revealed today in France’s leading conservative newspaper that the European Commission funds organizations close to Hamas and other anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli terrorist groups. Thus, between 2014 and 2020, Islamic Relief Worldwide received €13 million in European subsidies. Yet this association has been on Israel’s list of terrorist organizations since 2014 because of its alleged role in channeling funds to Hamas. The European Commission also awarded €300,000 in grants to the NGO Al-Haq in 2018. This organization is reputed to be close to the PFLP, a group that Hamas describes as “a major political partner”. According to a statement made by Israel to the UN in 1994, their Director General, Shawan Jabarin, is accused of having been a member of the PFLP.

The ECLJ had also asked the European Parliament to condemn the support given to Hamas by certain political parties and personalities in Europe. On this point, the Parliament insisted that “there should be no tolerance for terrorism, the glorification of violence or those calling for the destruction of Israel and Jewish life.”

Finally, in separate resolutions, the three right-wing groups in the European Parliament (EPP, ECR, ID) also recognized that these attacks are an attempt to halt and nullify the normalization of relations between Israel and its Arab neighbours under the Abraham Accords. Thus, in line with the ECLJ's recommendations, the ECR group “encourages the normalization of relations with Israel despite Hamas’s despicable terror attack.”