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EU envoy lays Gaza blame on Hamas
A senior European Union official touring war-torn Gaza has blamed the ruling militant movement Hamas for the humanitarian crisis there.
Humanitarian aid chief Louis Michel called the destruction left by Israel's offensive "abominable", but said Hamas bore "overwhelming responsibility".
He said there would be no dialogue with with the "terrorist" movement until it gave up violence and recognised Israel.
He also announced emergency aid for Gaza worth more than US $70m (£50m).
And he called on Israel to open the territory's borders to allow supplies in.
Sick of paying
"It is abominable, indescribable," Mr Michel told reporters after touring some of the worst-hit places of Israel's 22-day assault which killed about 1,300 Palestinians, including 400 children. Thirteen Israelis were also killed in the conflict.
"At this time we have to also recall the overwhelming responsibility of Hamas," he said.
"I intentionally say this here - Hamas is a terrorist movement and it has to be denounced as such."
He added there would be no dialogue with Hamas, and its use of terrorism against Israeli civilians meant it was not a legitimate resistance movement.
The BBC's Aleem Maqbool in Gaza says some aid agencies have expressed doubts about how effective a reconstruction drive in Gaza can be, without the involvement of Hamas, the people in charge there.
Announcing the extra aid package, Mr Michel said people in the EU was sick of paying for the same infrastructure being destroyed over and over again in Israeli military action.
The body is the main donor to the Palestinians, having given three billion euros since 2000, Mr Michel said.
"Every year, we spend 600 to 700 million euros. Today we decided on a supplementary payment of 60 million euros."
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/h...st/7851545.stm
A senior European Union official touring war-torn Gaza has blamed the ruling militant movement Hamas for the humanitarian crisis there.
Humanitarian aid chief Louis Michel called the destruction left by Israel's offensive "abominable", but said Hamas bore "overwhelming responsibility".
He said there would be no dialogue with with the "terrorist" movement until it gave up violence and recognised Israel.
He also announced emergency aid for Gaza worth more than US $70m (£50m).
And he called on Israel to open the territory's borders to allow supplies in.
Sick of paying
"It is abominable, indescribable," Mr Michel told reporters after touring some of the worst-hit places of Israel's 22-day assault which killed about 1,300 Palestinians, including 400 children. Thirteen Israelis were also killed in the conflict.
"At this time we have to also recall the overwhelming responsibility of Hamas," he said.
"I intentionally say this here - Hamas is a terrorist movement and it has to be denounced as such."
He added there would be no dialogue with Hamas, and its use of terrorism against Israeli civilians meant it was not a legitimate resistance movement.
The BBC's Aleem Maqbool in Gaza says some aid agencies have expressed doubts about how effective a reconstruction drive in Gaza can be, without the involvement of Hamas, the people in charge there.
Announcing the extra aid package, Mr Michel said people in the EU was sick of paying for the same infrastructure being destroyed over and over again in Israeli military action.
The body is the main donor to the Palestinians, having given three billion euros since 2000, Mr Michel said.
"Every year, we spend 600 to 700 million euros. Today we decided on a supplementary payment of 60 million euros."
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/h...st/7851545.stm
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