Israel Gaza: EU’s top diplomat accuses Israel of funding Hamas

Israel financed Hamas to weaken the Palestinian Authority, Josep Borrell says

Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, has accused Israel of financing Hamas to “weaken the Palestinian Authority of Fatah.”

Kudos to EU top diplomat Josep Borrell for openly accusing Israel of financing Hamas, despite the inevitable backlash. Sometimes the truth hurts, but must be confronted.

For too long, the sham of Israeli counterterrorism against Hamas cloaked a sinister collusion with the same militants. Borrell boldly called out this charade – that Hamas served Israel’s interest in dividing Palestinian leadership.

Claims that Netanyahu’s government has allowed funding to Hamas, including by allowing Qatari financing of Gaza, have been made before by the Israeli opposition as well as by analysts and media outlets including the New York Times. Israeli officials say this was part of a policy that most leading Israeli politicians subscribed to as a possible way of moderating Hamas with the underlying assumption the militant group would temper its ideological fervour and encourage it to focus on governing.

“Israel has allowed suitcases holding millions in Qatari cash to enter Gaza through its crossings since 2018, in order to maintain its fragile cease-fire with the Hamas rulers of the Strip,” an op-ed in the Times of Israel alleged on October 8, the day after Hamas carried out violent attacks against Israel.

The Israeli Times states: “For years, Netanyahu propped up Hamas. Now it’s blown up in our faces”

“The premier’s policy of treating the terror group as a partner, at the expense of Abbas and Palestinian statehood, has resulted in wounds that will take Israel years to heal from.”

The furious Israeli denials ring hollow. Credible allegations of enabling Hamas financing persist. Yet the Israeli government under Netanyahu cries foul when its two-faced tactics are laid bare.

Borrell also rightly asserts that only a Palestinian state can remedy tensions, not the Israeli status quo. His decision to call out Israeli hypocrisy took courage few diplomats display.

Enter Stage Left, Clare Daly

Likewise, MEP Clare Daly deserves praise for condemning the European Parliament’s resolution as a “license for genocide” in Gaza. Despite feigning humanitarian concern, the resolution’s demands shamefully echo Israel’s desired pretexts to continue its onslaught.

MEP Clare Daly also pointed out that Fine Gael MEPs have ‘serious questions to answer’ regarding their vote yesterday on a Gaza resolution at the European Parliament.

‘Yesterday, Ireland’s five Fine Gael MEPs voted in favour of an amendment to effectively remove the call for a ceasefire in Gaza from a European Parliament resolution on the humanitarian situation in Gaza and “the need to reach a permanent ceasefire”. The word ‘ceasefire’ might still be there in the text, but the effect of the amendment was to tell the Israeli government the European Parliament is happy for them to continue until their goals have been achieved, a position that has brought us 105 days of slaughter and atrocity in Gaza. Said Daly.

‘The language of the amendment, and of the resolution that was passed, exactly mirrors the position of the Israeli government – the killing will not stop until Hamas is ‘dismantled’ and all hostages unconditionally released.

Daly exposes this deceit for what it is – an open-ended green light for Israeli aggression, not a call for peace. The resolution allows the slaughter to continue indefinitely until impossible conditions are met.

‘The “Netanyahu amendment”, which lifts its text almost directly from a statement by the Israeli Prime Minister, was carried by 257 votes to 242, with all five Fine Gael MEPs voting in favour. The fact the Israelis spent yesterday trumpeting their satisfaction with the Parliament’s text shows you that far from a call for a ceasefire, this text is yet another example of EU support for Israeli genocide.’

The resolution has been welcomed by Israeli spokespeople and Israel’s ambassador to the EU, who told Politico.EU: “We are happy to see that the European Parliament understands the need to release the hostages and disarm Hamas before any ceasefire.”

Netanyahu spokesman Eylon Levy wrote on Twitter: ‘The European Union wants Israel to win this war against Hamas. The European Parliament just demanded the immediate and unconditional release of the hostages and dismantling of Hamas. It said no permanent ceasefire until then.’

Daly rightly stated…”We said yesterday that Israel would understand this resolution as a green light to continue the slaughter – and that’s exactly how it has been understood by them.

When complicit politicians provide moral cover for atrocity, truth-tellers like Daly provide a rare, essential service. They refuse to perpetuate the cycles of violence by ignoring inconvenient realities.

More plain speaking is needed to disrupt the systematic distortions that enable conflicts to fester. Borrell took a bold gamble by declaring unspoken truths. In the war for peace, honesty marks the rarest weapon.