Hamas welcomes EU position regarding Israeli settlements

The Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, on Thursday welcomed the position recently taken up by the European Union recommending a halt in financial transactions and trade with Israeli settlements, a statement said.

“We (Hamas) appreciate this position which asserted that Israeli settlements are systematic, deliberate and provocative,” the statement said.

Hamas said that the position expresses the “right attitude” towards Israeli settlement expansion, but noted that it is “not enough to deter the continuous construction of the Israel settlements.”

The Movement, which was disappointed by the EU’s failure to recognise its victory in transparent elections in 2006, called on the EU to exert more pressure and “take stricter” measures against Israel in order to stop settlement and the “stealing more Palestinian lands.”

A non-binding document by the EU consuls in East Jerusalem and the West Bank urged the 27 EU member states to work on excluding settlements from the trade benefits enjoyed by Israel.