Hamas condemns EU statement on Hebron operation

A spokesperson of the Islamic resistance movement Hamas has condemned the statement issued by the European Union regarding the Israeli occupation’s operation in Hebron and rejected the EU’s charges that Hamas blessed the recent kidnapping there.

The EU released a statement on Saturday saying that: “The EU reiterates its condemnation of the recent abduction of three Israeli students in the West Bank and calls once again for their immediate release and safe return to their families.”

The statement continued: “The EU commends President [Mahmoud] Abbas for his unequivocal condemnation of the abduction and welcomes the cooperation of the Palestinian security services in the search for the abductees. Statements made by some Hamas leaders that glorify the perpetrators of the abduction are unacceptable.”

According to Al-Resalah Press, Hamas’s spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri called the EU position on the Hebron operation a form of political hypocrisy and a courtesy to the occupation. Since the Hebron operation began two weeks ago, Israeli occupation forces have killed five Palestinians in the West Bank and arrested hundreds.

Abu Zuhri stressed that the EU should have made an effort to end the abduction of five thousand Palestinians, the number currently imprisoned in Israeli jails, before mourning the disappearance of the three settlers.

The three Israeli settlers disappeared nearly two weeks ago under mysterious circumstances near the Gush Etzion settlement bloc near Hebron, in the south of the West Bank. The missing settlers and their alleged captors have so far yet to be found.