World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder on Wednesday called on the European Union to stand firm regarding the inclusion of Hamas and its militant wing in the list of terrorist organizations, despite a ruling by the EU General Court which annulled the blacklisting of Hamas on procedural grounds. “Irrespective of the legal aspects involved here, this ruling sends a terrible signal. Although it only annuls the unanimous decision taken by the EU member states in 2003 on procedural grounds, it gives Hamas a huge moral victory and will strengthen it vis-à-vis the more moderate forces in the Palestinian territories,” Lauder declared.
The EU General Court in Luxembourg said the European Council’s decision to place Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, on the list of terrorist groups wasn’t sufficiently thorough and was based on “on factual imputations derived from the press and internet.” The court, however, didn’t unfreeze Hamas funds in the region, delaying the ruling for three months to give the EU a chance to appeal. The court “stresses that those annulments, on fundamental procedural grounds, do not imply any substantive assessment of the question of the classification of Hamas as a terrorist group,” a statement by the court's press office said.
Hamas' legal challenge to the blacklisting was successful because the EU had failed to “concretely examine” the factual elements to justify the freezing of the funds, the court said..jpg)
"Let’s not forget one important thing: The decision to blacklist Hamas was taken in 2003 after 22 Israelis were killed in a Hamas-orchestrated bus bombing. It is especially ironic that today, at a time when not just Western countries such as Canada and the US, but also moderate Arab countries such as Egypt and Jordan, consider Hamas a terrorist group, the European Union shouldn’t anymore,” said Lauder.
He urged EU High Representative Federica Mogherini to immediately seek a reversal of this decision: “This court ruling must be appealed, and if necessary, the EU must strengthen its legal arsenal in the fight against terrorism. This is in the interest not just of the Palestinian people and of Israel, but also that of Europeans who are increasingly becoming targets of Islamic terror groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah.”
Lauder said Hamas had shown last summer that it was unwilling to end its terrorist activity targeting civilians: “The 1989 Hamas Charter remains in force. It says in article 7 that ‘The time will not come until Muslims will fight the Jews (and kill them); until the Jews hide behind rocks and trees, which will cry: O Muslim, there is a Jew hiding behind me, come on and kill him!’ Let’s call a spade a spade: Hamas clearly is a terrorist organization, and the EU must recognize the reality. It should not allow Hamas to cynically use the rule of law in its struggle to overthrow the rule of law.”
