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The EU Parliament in Strasbourg
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| By Israel Insider staff October 11, 2007 |
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European Union parliamentarians bashed Israel on Wednesday during a special session held in Brussels, condemning the Jewish state for turning the Gaza Strip into a "prison." The attendees demanded that Israel open Gaza crossings into Israel that have been closed since the takeover by Hamas, an internationally recognized terrorist group.
In a passionate tirade, Belgian MEP Veronique De Keyser called Gaza a "ghetto" where "people are dying little by little with cameras trained on them," the Jerusalem Post reported.
One British MEP, Chris Davies, called on the EU to end funding to Gaza and place the financial responsibility wholly on Israel, which he blamed -- in particularly harsh terms -- for the growing humanitarian crisis in the Strip.
"What does it have to do with the EU? Gaza is an Israeli prison camp. It is the Israelis who should be responsible. They are the ones that keep them in misery," Davis said.
Following Hamas' blood putsch in June, Israel closed the main commercial crossing into Israel at Karni and the pedestrian one into Egypt at Rafah due to security concerns. The third major crossing into Israel at Erez has been opened for limited pedestrian traffic.
Continued mortar attacks on the crossings and at IDF troops guarding the area have been one of the major impediments to reopening the passages. Also, after Fatah was forced to flee from the Strip, there was one to guard the Gaza borders on the Palestinian side.
One of the lone pro-Israeli voices, British MEP Charles Tannock said Israel "is actually acting with restraint and moderation" given that Hamas is "committed to Israel's destruction."
Meanwhile, senior EU spokeswoman Christiane Hohmann told Israeli reporters in Brussels on Wednesday that the EU is calling on Israel to honor the right of return for Palestinian refugees in its agreements with the PA, Ynet reported.
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