Print

Mail

wiki links

EU puts Hamas on terrorist blacklist

EU foreign ministers denounced the political wing of Hamas as a terrorist organization on Saturday following the group's claim of responsibility for a truce-shattering bomb attack in Jerusalem.

The decision, long sought by both Israel and the US, opens the way for Europe to freeze the group's assets and place its leaders on a terrorist blacklist.

"A consensus emerged to decide on putting Hamas on the list of terrorist organizations French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin told reporters, dropping France's earlier objections to outlawing the Palestinian militant movement.

Hamas incurred the EU's wrath after it said it was behind the Aug. 19 suicide bombing which killed 22 Israelis and pushed the Middle East's precarious peace process to the verge of collapse.

But a Hamas official decried the EU decision to brand it a terrorist organization.

Ismail Haniya was speaking to Arabic television al Jazeera after what he said was an Israeli assassination attempt against himself and Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in the Gaza strip.

"Let the world and let the EU, which is discussing placing Hamas on the terrorist list, witness this attack. We say to the Europeans you must be just and place the Zionist enemy on the top of the global terrorist group list," Haniya said.

Yassin and about 15 others were wounded in an Israeli air strike, the latest in a series of military attacks against Hamas since the Jerusalem bus bombing.

The Palestinian militant group is opposed to the state of Israel and has carried out suicide bombings that have killed hundreds of Israelis since a Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation began about three years ago.

A group of EU intelligence experts will start work today to determine what action should be taken against Hamas.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, whose country has long urged the EU to join the US in banning the political wing, suggested there would be swift financial repercussions.

"There was complete agreement that, given the outrage perpetrated by Hamas ... which killed so many innocent people and for which there was no conceivable justification, we've taken a political decision to freeze the assets of Hamas and other actions," he said.

Israel hailed the EU decision.

"It is about time that the whole of Hamas was put on the terrorist list and we hope this step and others will eventually stop Hamas's activities," said Haim Assaraf, spokesman for the Israeli embassy to the EU in Brussels.

The US also welcomed the move.

"This is an important step in halting the financing of terrorist activities. We look for the EU to carry through ... and to take action against Hamas on an urgent basis," US Department of State spokesman Richard Boucher said.

The EU last year put Hamas's military wing, the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, on its terrorist blacklist but held back from ostracizing the political wing, with France arguing that it had a potential role to play in peace efforts.

Paris also said it provided much-needed social services to the Palestinian people.

However, recent events have hardened attitudes within the EU, which is the largest aid donor to the Palestinian authorities.
This story has been viewed 1758 times.