EUobserver - LEIGH PHILLIPS | 25 Jan 2010
Israel blocked Belgian development minister Charles Michel from entering the Gaza Strip on the weekend, arguing that the visit would give symbolic support to Hamas. Separately, Palestinian Authority officials have warned the EU against moving towards offering the militant Islamist group any form of recognition. "These kinds of visits can only strengthen Hamas and give it legitimacy," Israeli deputy foreign minister Danny Ayalon said in a statement about the aborted Michel trip.
"We allow humanitarian assistance to enter Gaza, including food and medication, but we will not allow political visits that bolster Hamas," he added.
Mr Michel, the son of former EU development commissioner Louis Michel, said that he would raise the issue at the European Union level.
"This situation is unacceptable," he told Belgian television.
Meanwhile, the Fatah-controlled Palestian Authority has warned the bloc against further moves to make contact with Hamas, still officially described by the EU as a terrorist organisation.
The Jerusalem Post, a conservative Israeli English-language newspaper, quotes an unnamed "senior official" from the PA as saying that EU officials and citizens are "ignoring the fact that Hamas had staged a coup in the Gaza Strip."
In 2007, a conflict between the two rival Palestinian groups resulted in Fatah assuming control of the West Bank while Hamas, the elected government of both occupied territories, retained control of the Gaza Strip. Both sides accuse the other of organising a putsch.
The quoted official suggested that contact with Hamas threatened reconciliation between the two Palestinian sides and ultimately the wider Middle East peace process.
"Those who are trying to legitimise Hamas are harming the Palestinian Authority and any chance of achieving peace with Israel," he said.
Despite the stated EU stance towards Hamas, it is an open secret that European member state officials maintain links with the Gaza administration.
Last year, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said that Germany was working with Hamas towards the release of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier held prisoner by the Islamic group, while a Hamas spokesman told EUobserver that it holds meetings on a weekly basis with different diplomatic contacts from France, Spain, Germany, Italy, the UK and Luxembourg.
Last week, the speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Abdel Aziz Dwaik met with British businessman David Abrahams, a major donor to the UK Labour Party, in Hebron to "facilitate dialogue between Hamas and the international community."
Following the meeting, Mr Dwaik said that Hamas accepted Israel's existence and could even consider "nullifying" the group's charter, which calls for the Jewish state's destruction.
He said that his group supported the creation of a Palestinian state within pre-1967 borders and expressed his desire to begin dialogue particularly with the European Union.
"The charter was drafted more than 20 years ago," Mr Dwaik said. "No one wants to throw anyone into the sea."
