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EU Won´t Ban Hamas
By Marc Perelman
The Forward | July 16, 2003


Rebuffing Washington, the European Union decided
last week that it will not reclassify the
political wing of Hamas as a terrorist group,
insisting that its activities qualify it as a
legitimate organization.

Meeting last week in Brussels, the 15 European
foreign ministers reached a unanimous decision not
to change the political wing´s designation, a move
that had been sought by the United States,
although they may revisit the issue at a summit
scheduled for July 21 to July 22 if more countries
are seen to support a change.

The decision comes after the European Commission,
the E.U.´s executive body, declined last month to
freeze the assets of the political wing. The E.U.
does, however, maintain a ban on Hamas´s military
branch, which has claimed responsibility for
terrorist attacks in Israel and elsewhere.

The main opponent to enforcing a total ban on
Hamas is France, which points to the recent
cease-fire agreement as evidence that the Islamic
organization is a key player in the Middle East
peace process. French officials contend a ban
would force the organization underground and
ignite further violence. American officials, for
their part, argue that any distinction between the
military and political wings of such a lethal
group is artificial.

"There has been a very clear distinction between
the two wings, and the [French foreign] minister
himself has called for that distinction to be made
between the armed wings and the social
organizations in the Palestinian territories," a
spokesman for the ministry said at a news
conference last week.

The commission endorsed those views last month.
Commission spokesman Reijo Kempinnen said in a
statement that Hamas´s political wing is
legitimate because it runs social-welfare services
such as clinics and hospitals.

At a meeting last month with E.U. leaders in
Washington, President Bush urged the E.U. to take
"decisive measures against terrorist groups like
Hamas, to cut off their funds and their sources of
support." His national security adviser,
Condoleezza Rice, is also on the record as saying
the European position was "illogical."

A knowledgeable source said American officials
recently visited several E.U. countries to
advocate for a total ban of Hamas.

"This distinction is indeed totally artificial,"
said Francois Zimeray, a pro-Israel French member
of the European Parliament. "This just shows an
absence of political courage."

French officials, for their part, have shown a
sympathetic face to Middle Eastern terrorist
groups. In Lebanon for a recent summit of
French-speaking countries, French President
Jacques Chirac listened to a speech by Hassan
Nasrallah, the secretary-general of Hezbollah —
another group designated as a terrorist
organization by the United States but not by the
E.U., which has deemed it a political party.
Chirac´s wife, meanwhile, visited a Hamas-run
refugee camp.

Britain and Italy, however, have sided with
Washington on the issue, Zimeray said, so the
European debate is ongoing.

Zimeray, who is leading a campaign in the European
Parliament to demand an investigation into the
misuse of E.U. funds by the Palestinian Authority,
said he felt there was nevertheless a "real
awakening" in the E.U. regarding the need to
control the use of taxpayers´ money by the P.A.

He noted that an official investigation and a
parliamentary working group were both
investigating the issue and that the recent filing
of a lawsuit against the E.U. Commission for its
alleged role in funding terrorist attacks in
Israel has had a sobering effect in Brussels.

"There is a real evolution on this issue, and this
is why I believe the discussion about Hamas is not
over yet," he added.