The European Union and government

No one will ever forget that the blockade imposed by the occupying power in Gaza, in cooperation with international and regional powers, is the longest siege in modern times. In addition to this, no one will forget that this blockade was never either moral or legal, nor is it consistent with UN laws; it remains purely a political blockade and was imposed due to Hamas’s victory in the legislative elections, its formation of a government, and its rejection of the International Quartet’s conditions.

The Quartet’s conditions were unacceptable and ex-US President Jimmy Carter himself objected to these conditions during his visit to Gaza. Carter was surprised at the UN’s involvement in the Quartet and only stood behind the demand for a cease-fire.

Many years have passed and the blockade remains in place. Media outlets and research centres have been full of analyses and articles regarding the Quartet’s role in justifying the blockade without giving weight to the principles of democracy, which are usually the reference for the decisions made by the European Union and the United States.

A statement was issued yesterday by the EU meeting in Brussels regarding the reconciliation of Fatah and Hamas, stating that the EU will continue to fund a technocratic government provided that this government recognises Israel, renounces violence and recognises the Oslo Accords as well as other agreements. This statement refers entirely back to the Quartet’s conditions after the victory of Hamas in 2006, which is an absurd and unreasonable position that assumes that life hasn’t move on since then and that democracy must align with the EU’s vision even though democracy is all about pluralism and diversity. The truth is that they want an EU government in Palestine.

Some human rights organisations, such as Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN), criticised the EU’s most recent statement due to its disregard of democratic principles, morals and lack of balance in dealing with Palestinian rights.

I would like to ask this: why did the EU’s statement not include a clear condition against the occupation, against settlements and against the annexation of Jerusalem? The EU is dealing in double standards as it is demanding conditions from the victims of occupation that protect the occupation and its settlements and forgets that the root of the problem is the occupation and its aggression.

The European Union understands what we are saying, and even more than what we are saying with regards to reality, justice, and democracy, but it is not paying enough attention to the demands of the poor. Instead, it respects the strong and unwillingly and unfairly listens to them. This was realised by Putin during his experience with Ukraine and Crimea, and it was learnt very well by Iran during its experience with the US and the West. However, the Arab world, particularly the PA, has failed to grasp this. Palestine has thus been rendered a passage in a political statement and is no longer a free authority able to form a government that expresses the opinions of the Palestinian majority.

In the entire world, the people and parties form governments that represent and express them and determine their general policies, but that is not true in Palestine. The EU wants to form our government and determine our policies. The Europeans want a government that expresses the EU’s opinions and the opinions of Israeli society, or else no money, no recognition and no blessing for the reconciliation. What the European Union wants is an “EU government” that manages and governs the occupied PA territories. May God save the Palestinians from the evils of the disagreement over the outline of the government.

Translated from Felesteen on-line newspaper, 14 May 2014

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.