Press Release

In response to the misrepresentations of the European Parliament's resolution supporting the occupation

On Thursday evening, the European Parliament voted on a resolution regarding the events in Gaza, with a majority of 500 votes in favor, while 21 members opposed the resolution and 24 abstained. The resolution called for the immediate release of all hostages kidnapped by Hamas, recognized Israel's right to self-defense "as stipulated and constrained by international law," but contained numerous distortions, double standards, and denial of many facts.

The League of Parliamentarians for Al-Quds was shocked by the content of the resolution, which attempted to give legal justification to the genocidal war waged by the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people in Gaza. It sought to justify its crimes and endorse Israel's operation aimed at displacing and killing the largest number of Palestinians in the region.

We want to emphasize that the League condemns the resolution issued by the Parliament, which is expected to be submitted to the European Commission for approval and then to the relevant institutions for implementation. The resolution condemns the Palestinian people and their resistance while recognizing Israel's right to self-defense, implicitly conditional on "massacres within international law." The resolution condemned the Palestinian people, supported the Israeli occupation without condemning its massacres, did not speak about a genuine ceasefire, stopping the destruction of residential areas and the killing of children, and attempted to involve Iran, Russia, and Hezbollah in the equation to give more legitimacy to Israel's criminal actions.

While the resolution called for the release of what it referred to as Israeli hostages held by Hamas, it did not address the plight of thousands of Palestinian prisoners living in dire conditions, subjected to Israeli practices that violate international humanitarian law and human rights, and deprived of their basic rights.

Furthermore, the resolution failed to mention Israel when discussing the targeting of infrastructure, schools, hospitals, and journalists, attributing these acts to an unknown source, as if they occurred spontaneously rather than being the result of deliberate actions. The resolution neglected to acknowledge that the occupation's crimes are the cause of the ongoing violence due to its continued attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque, annexation of Palestinian land, provocation of Palestinian sentiments, intensification of the Judaization of occupied Jerusalem, and the continued strict siege on Gaza since 2006, which has caused catastrophic suffering in the region.

The Parliament's resolution conveniently forgot that the eruption of violence is a clear indication of the failure of the international justice system and the institutions of the international community, as well as the complicity of major powers with the Israeli occupation, enabling it to eliminate any opportunity for justice for the Palestinian people. It is natural for the Palestinian people to exercise their right to resistance and defend their land and sacred places after being let down by the international system.

The resolution also called for the protection of Jewish communities in Europe while all those who stand in solidarity with the Palestinian cause face repression and arrests, and Arab and Muslim communities are subjected to discrimination and hate speech without any deterrent. This is a clear denial of their rights, respect for their religious and intellectual sentiments.

It is noteworthy that the resolution adopted the narrative of the occupation in a blatant manner, as if it was issued by the Israeli Knesset rather than the European Parliament. It also did not refer to the crimes of the occupation except the crime of bombing the Baptist Hospital, which it tried to exonerate the occupation from and blame on the Palestinian resistance.

The resolution clearly sided with the Israeli occupation and its narrative, in clear violation of diplomatic norms, international ethics, and propagated Israeli lies, attempting to demonize and dehumanize the Palestinian people while justifying the massacres.

We call on the European Parliament to refrain from prioritizing political interests over humanitarian considerations and to stop the double standards, blaming the victim and rewarding the oppressor. We urge them to take serious action to halt Israeli crimes. We also commend those parliamentarians who were keen on presenting the truth and not succumbing to Israeli propaganda.