Bad gets to worse for newly elected Hamas as the European Union announced the halting of all direct funding to the Palestinian Authority, substantially increasing the pressure put on the terrorist group to renounce violence and recognize the state of Israel."For the time being the are no payments to or through the Palestinian Authority," said Emma Udwin, a spokeswoman for EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner.
The European Commission, which has confirmed the suspension, said it does expect the EU foreign ministers to discuss what to do next when meetings take place next Monday in Luxembourg.
"We will
not accept such a blackmail," said Hamas government spokesman Ghazi Hamad. "Hamas was elected democratically and the Palestinian people are punished for their choice."The Palestine people will only suffer because their leadership will not act. It has been said repeatedly what Hamas must do, recognize the right of Israel to exist, renounce violence and commit itself to the peace process, all of which are not unreasonable request.
The European Union, which is the biggest donor to the Palestinian Authority, with member states and the European Commission putting aside around 500 million euros a year since 2003.
All of this means that Hamas better take the EU seriously if it wants to deal in the real world and actually make a better future for it's people.
2 comments:
I wonder if the Arabs will put up the money to cover the losses from the US and other "Decent" countries.
BTW. I stole your Friend of Israel and the Warrior under it.
If you mind, let me know and I will remove it from my site.
Thank you for posting this...I've been following the Hamas situation for a while now. I was so proud of Canada for withdrawing funding! Now I'm gaining new respect for the EU too :)
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