December 13, 2005.
Note of Likud of Holland: bravo to the Financial Times, not many
newspapers have reported on this.
Israel has accused the European Union of breaching international laws against
terrorism by maintaining contact with the radical Islamist groups Hamas and
Hizbollah, in a sign of new tension between Israel and Europe.
Last month, EU foreign ministers gave the green light to contact with Hamas
candidates in next month’s Palestinian parliamentary elections. An official EU
monitoring mission will be allowed contact with election candidates, including
Hamas, only as part of its technical work.
The Israeli foreign ministry’s accusations, prepared in a legal analysis seen by
the FT, came as EU foreign ministers were expected on Monday to discuss an
EU report that in its draft version severely criticises Israeli policies in east
Jerusalem, saying they demonstrate Israel’s intention to consolidate its
annexation of the Arab half of the city.
Many EU officials believe the inclusion of Hamas on the EU’s list of proscribed
terrorist organisations has constrained its work in trying to persuade the militant
group to renounce violence. Israel has long argued that the west should
suspend all engagement with Hamas and the Lebanese guerrilla group Hizbollah.
“The EU in its contacts with Hamas and Hizbollah is clearly not maintaining its
legal commitment concerning the war against terrorism,” said an Israeli official
familiar with the draft foreign ministry report.
It cites UN Security Council resolution 1373, adopted after the
September 11 attacks on the US, which stipulates that member states must
refrain from providing either active or passive support to those involved in
terrorism.
The Israeli government has yet to decide what further action it might take
against the EU.
Ambassador Ramiro Cibrian-Uzal, head of the European Commission delegation
in Jerusalem, said on Sunday the EU was not weakening its ban on talks with
Hamas and that the EU remained committed to its political dialogue with Israel.
