The European Union Rewards Terrorism - by Robert Williams for The Gatestone Institute - 24.10.23

Israel had not even buried its dead from the horrifying jihadist pogrom that Hamas terrorists unleashed on Israeli civilians in south Israel -- beheading babies, burning them alive, torturing, raping, kidnapping, murdering -- before the European Union decided to reward the terrorists by tripling its assistance to Gaza.

"The Commission will immediately increase the current humanitarian aid envelope foreseen for Gaza by 50 million euros," European Commission President Ursula van der Leyen said. "This will bring the total to over 75 million euros. We will continue our close cooperation with the UN and its agencies to ensure that this aid reaches those in need in the Gaza strip."

Oh really? How? The terrorist group Hamas, a proxy of Iran, the "worst state sponsor of terrorism," is wholly in control of Gaza and will take what shows up and dribble it out slowly to a chosen few, mainly in their military. The idea that any of it will reach the million displaced souls who were urged by the Israelis to flee to southern Gaza to save their lives is charming, but woefully starry-eyed. Food and water -- if that is really what is in the uninspected trucks, rather than weapons -- will go to the Hamas foot soldiers to make sure they stay fit and loyal.

"Hamas are trying to prevent people leaving northern Gaza. And that is the point... Of course we want to minimize Palestinian casualties. We want to minimize Israeli casualties. We want everybody to respect civilians. But the real clear distinction is Israel are trying to get civilians out of danger; Hamas are trying to put civilians into danger, and that is a fundamental difference between the two." — UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, October 15, 2023.

Sadly, massive injustices were done by the international media which, without checking, wrongly blamed Israel for firing at a hospital in Gaza, supposedly killing hundreds. Video evidence and a voice recording revealed that the real cause of the explosion at the hospital was a rocket, launched toward Israel by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, that landed in the hospital parking lot. The media, it seems, could not wait to stick it to the Jews.

Israel had not even buried its dead from the horrifying jihadist pogrom that Hamas terrorists unleashed on Israeli civilians in south Israel -- beheading babies, burning them alive, torturing, raping, kidnapping, murdering -- before the European Union decided to reward the terrorists by tripling its assistance to Gaza.

"The Commission will immediately increase the current humanitarian aid envelope foreseen for Gaza by 50 million euros," European Commission President Ursula van der Leyen said. "This will bring the total to over 75 million euros. We will continue our close cooperation with the UN and its agencies to ensure that this aid reaches those in need in the Gaza strip."

Oh really? How?

The terrorist group Hamas, a proxy of Iran, the "worst state sponsor of terrorism," is wholly in control of Gaza and will take what shows up and dribble it out slowly to a chosen few, mainly in their military. The idea that any of it will reach the million displaced souls who were urged by the Israelis to flee to southern Gaza to save their lives is charming, but woefully starry-eyed. Food and water -- if that is really what is in the uninspected trucks, rather than weapons -- will go to the Hamas foot soldiers to make sure they stay fit and loyal.

For the EU, the determination to stand with Israel and the Jewish people with more than just words at its worst moment since the Holocaust, lasted a splendiferous colossal day or so. After the massacre, the EU Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi, posted on X:

"The scale of terror and brutality against Israel and its people is a turning point.

"There can be no business as usual.

"As the biggest donor of the Palestinians, the European Commission is putting its full development portfolio under review, worth a total of EUR 691m ($732 million).

"•All payments immediately suspended. •All projects put under review. •All new budget proposals, incl. for 2023 postponed until further notice. •Comprehensive assessment of the whole portfolio.

"The foundations for peace, tolerance and co-existence must now be addressed.

"Incitement to hatred, violence and glorification of terror have poisoned the minds of too many.

"We need action and we need it now."

This surprisingly logical decision was almost immediately reversed by the top brass of the European Commission. Several EU member states -- France, Ireland, Spain and Luxembourg -- complained that suspending aid would "exacerbate the already dire situation inside the Gaza Strip."

Josep Borrell, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy wrote on X just six hours after Várhelyi's announcement:

"The review of the EU's assistance for Palestine announced by the European Commission will not suspend the due payments, as clarified by the Commission's press release.

"The suspension of the payments - punishing all the Palestinian people - would have damaged the EU interests in the region and would have only further emboldened terrorists."

Borell did not specify how stopping aid to Hamas terrorists would run against "EU interests" in the region or how it would have emboldened the terrorists. They seem quite bold already.

"Since the outset of the Israeli–Palestinian peace process in 1993, Europe has been one of Palestine's main donors," Le Monde wrote on October 13.

"This support, which has proved relatively stable since 2008, has averaged €1.2 billion a year across all member-states and the European Union (EU) itself, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Within this combined total, the EU share managed by Brussels amounts to €300 million per year.

"Following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, this contribution is now being called into question, and the Commission is re-examining it to check whether it has financed the Islamist organization...Germany – which gives around €125 million a year – as well as Austria, Denmark and Sweden, have decided to temporarily suspend their contributions."

Stunningly, having financed Palestinians for thirty years to the tune of billions of euros, the European Union and its member states apparently had no idea whether that money went, directly or indirectly, to supporting terrorism and ultimately helping to finance the massacre against Israeli civilians on October 7. Now -- rather late -- they have called for a review. Despite their ignorance regarding the use of European funds by Hamas, the EU could not bring itself to suspend aid to Gaza -- which is the same as Hamas -- but tripled it no less.

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The European Union Rewards Terrorism - by Robert Williams for The Gatestone Institute - 24.

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Robert Williams is a researcher based in the United States.

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