The European Union on Monday condemned "inflammatory statements" made by Hamas leaders "that deny Israel’s right to exist", calling them "unacceptable", in a statement issued after a meeting of EU Foreign Ministers in Brussels.
On Saturday, in a speech to a mass rally in Gaza City Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal reiterated his movement would never recognise Israel and pledged to “free the land of Palestine inch by inch”.
Mashaal, who was speaking to Hamas supporters during a rally marking the 25th anniversary of the Islamist movement’s founding, said: “Palestine from the river to the sea, from the north to the south, is our land and we will never give up one inch or any part of it.”
He added : « Palestine was, still is and will always be Arab and Islamic. Palestine belongs to us and to no one else. We can never recognize the legitimacy of the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Palestine belongs to us, and not to the Zionists.”
In its declaration, the EU reiterated its "fundamental commitment to the security of Israel, including with regard to vital threats in the region," the EU declaration said, adding that the European Union "will never cease its efforts to combat terrorism which seeks to undermine the openness and tolerance of societies throught indiscriminate acts of violence against civilians."
"The European Union will never stop opposing those who embrace and promote violence as a way to achieve political goals," the declaration said.
Hamas, the Islamist movement which controls the Gaza Strip, is on the EU list of terror organisations.
The statement also stressed that the EU was "deeply dismayed by and strongly opposes" Israel’s plans to expand settlements in the West Bank, including in East Jerusalem, and in particular plans to develop the so-called ‘E1’ area which stretches from Jerusalem to Maale Adumim, the largest Israeli settlement in the West Bank.
"The E1 plan, if implemented, would seriously undermine the prospects of a negotiated resolution of the conflict by jeopardizing the possibility of a contiguous and viable Palestinian state and of Jerusalem as the future capital of two states," the statement stressed.
" In the light of its core objective of achieving the two-state solution, the EU will closely monitor the situation and its broader implications, and act accordingly," the EU said, reiterating its position that "settlements are illegal under international law and constitute an obstacle to peace."
The Israeli decision to expand settlement development, including in the E1 corridor, sparked international condemnation last week, which saw Israeli ambassadors to the EU, Britain, France, Spain, Sweden, Denmark and Italy being summoned by their host nations.
But contrary to some speculations, Monday's EU declaration didn't mention any “sanction” against Israel such as a boycott of Israeli products manufactured in settlements beyond the Green Line.
The statement however insisted EU member states remain committed “to ensure continued, full and effective implementation of existing EU legislation and bilateral arrangements applicable to settlement products”.
Further berating Israel for threatening to withdraw tax transfer payments to the Palestinian Authority (PA), which Netanyahu told German daily Die Welt Wednesday was simply a case of Israel acting in its rights “to deduct the funds they owe us”, adding that “other governments do the same every day on outstanding debts that they are owed”, the EU called on Israel to respect its contractual obligations, cautioning that “any such action by Israel would undermine existing cooperation mechanisms between Israel and the Palestinian Authority and thus negatively affect the prospects of negotiations”.
Referencing the EU’s own divided position over the successful PA bid for observer non-member status at the UN General Assembly last month, the statement sought balance by calling on “the Palestinian leadership to use constructively this new status and not to undertake steps which would deepen the lack of trust and lead further away from a negotiated solution”.
The recent escalation in Gaza, ministers concluded “underlined very clearly the unsustainable nature of the status quo with regard to the situation in the Gaza Strip”, as they called on the “unconditional” opening of the Gaza border crossing by Israel for humanitarian and commercial purposes.
Israel installed the blockade of the crossing following its withdrawal from Gaza in 2005 and terrorist group Hamas’ subsequent political coup in 2007, fearing for its safety amid substantiated threats of arms smuggling.
Recognising Israel’s concerns and agreeing that the issue of arms smuggling “has to be effectively addressed as a matter of urgency”, the EU contended however that the threats came from intra-Palestinian divisions, which it claimed further endangers Gaza’s future “as long it remains politically and economically separated from the West Bank”, under the control of the internationally-recognised PA.