P9_TA(2023)0373 – The despicable terrorist attacks by Hamas against Israel, Israel’s right to defend itself in line with humanitarian and international law and the humanitarian situation in Gaza – European Parliament resolution of 19 October 2023 on the despicable terrorist attacks by Hamas against Israel, Israel’s right to defend itself in line with humanitarian and international law and the humanitarian situation in Gaza (2023/2899(RSP))
Date: 2023-10-19
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: Israel, Palestine, Palestine question, civilian victim, conflict prevention, dismissal, establishment of peace, humanitarian crisis, illegal restraint, international human rights law, terrorism








C_202402655EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2024/2655


29.4.2024






P9_TA(2023)0373

The despicable terrorist attacks by Hamas against Israel, Israel’s right to defend itself in line with humanitarian and international law and the humanitarian situation in Gaza


European Parliament resolution of 19 October 2023 on the despicable terrorist attacks by Hamas against Israel, Israel’s right to defend itself in line with humanitarian and international law and the humanitarian situation in Gaza (2023/2899(RSP))

(C/2024/2655)



The European Parliament,







—


having regard to its previous resolutions on the Israel-Palestine conflict,










—


having regard to the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly,










—


having regard to the European Council statement of 15 October 2023 on the situation in the Middle East,










—


having regard to Articles 2(4) and 51 of the UN Charter which ensure the right of self-defence,










—


having regard to the joint statement by the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States of America of 9 October 2023,










—


having regard to the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements of 13 September 1993 (the Oslo Accords),










—


having regard to the EU terrorist list, which includes Hamas as a terrorist organisation,










—


having regard to international humanitarian law, in particular the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 and the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols,










—


having regard to Rule 132(2) and (4) of its Rules of Procedure,










A.


whereas on 7 October 2023, close to the 50th anniversary of the attack that started the Yom Kippur War, the terrorist group Hamas, which is listed on the EU list of terrorist organisations, carried out a despicable terrorist attack against Israel of unprecedented cruelty, including acts of torture and rape; whereas the Hamas terrorist fighters entered Israeli territory during a massive launch of more than 5 000 rockets; whereas these brutal attacks, which were directed mainly at civilians, resulted in the assassination of over 1 400 Israelis and at least 75 foreign nationals, including EU citizens, the majority of whom were civilians, including children and babies; whereas at least 3 400 people have been wounded; whereas the terrorist group Hamas kidnapped an estimated of 200 individuals and is now holding them hostage in Gaza, including children, women, elderly people, Holocaust survivors and some EU nationals; whereas on 13 October 2023, the terrorist group Hamas announced that 13 hostages had lost their lives;










B.


whereas 7 October 2023 was the deadliest day for Jewish people since the Shoah and accounts for the highest number of fatalities in a single day in Israel’s history;










C.


whereas the EU and its Member States have strongly condemned the crimes committed by Hamas and have repeatedly called for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held in Gaza; whereas key regional players such as Iran, Qatar, Kuwait, Syria and Iraq have blamed the attack on Israel; whereas the risk of escalation in the region is the highest in many decades;










D.


whereas on 9 October 2023, the Minister of Defense of Israel announced a full siege of the Gaza Strip, including cutting off the supply of electricity, food and water to the area; whereas the Israeli Government has called up 360 000 reservists; whereas on 13 October 2023, the Israeli Defense Forces called for the evacuation of around 1.1 million Palestinians living in Gaza City and in the north of the Gaza Strip to the south of the area; whereas the suspension of the supply of electricity, food, water and fuel to the Gaza Strip risks provoking the further deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the region, as the population of Gaza is not able to leave, because its border with Egypt has been closed for more than a week; whereas over 2 600 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed, more than 10 000 have been wounded and over one million Gazans, half the Gaza Strip’s population, have been displaced within the Strip so far;










E.


whereas the terrorist organisation Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people and their legitimate aspirations;










F.


whereas the Commission did not speak with one voice on this conflict, as contradictory statements were released by the Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement and the Commissioner for Crisis Management; whereas further statements were made by the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the Commission President;










G.


whereas 30 years after the Oslo Accords, the Israel-Palestinian conflict remains unresolved;










H.


whereas a significant amount of false information and manipulated content has been circulating; whereas there should be no tolerance for terrorism, the glorification of violence or those calling for the destruction of Israel and Jewish life;













1.


Condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the despicable terrorists attacks committed by the terrorist group Hamas against Israel and expresses its support for the State of Israel and its people; reiterates that the terrorist organisation Hamas needs to be eliminated;












2.


Calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages who have been taken by the terrorist group Hamas and for the bodies of deceased hostages to be returned; recalls that the taking of hostages is a violation of international law and constitutes a war crime;












3.


Expresses its deepest sorrow and full solidarity with the innocent victims on both sides, their families and loved ones;












4.


Calls for those responsible for terrorist acts and for violations of international law to be held to account; reiterates the EU’s strong support for the International Criminal Court’s work;












5.


Recognises Israel’s right to self-defence, as enshrined in and constrained by international law, and emphasises that the actions of Israel must therefore strictly comply with international humanitarian law; underlines that the attacks by the terrorist group Hamas and the Israeli response risk leading to an intensified cycle of violence in the region;












6.


Underlines the importance of differentiating between the Palestinian people and their legitimate aspirations on the one hand, and the Hamas terrorist organisation and its acts of terror on the other hand;












7.


Is very concerned about the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, where approximately half of the population are children; calls for opening channels for providing humanitarian aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip and for these to be kept permanently open; urges the international community to continue and increase its humanitarian assistance to the civilian population in the area; reiterates that the EU must continue delivering humanitarian aid to them; urges Egypt and Israel to cooperate with the international community to establish humanitarian corridors to the Gaza Strip;












8.


Deeply regrets and mourns the loss of hundreds of innocent lives and those injured at the Al-Ahli hospital blast; calls for an independent investigation under international law to establish whether this was a deliberate attack, and thus a war crime; calls for the perpetrators to be held accountable;












9.


Calls on all parties to take the necessary steps to bring about a fundamental change to the political, security and economic situation in the Gaza Strip, including fully re-opening crossing points, while addressing Israel’s legitimate security concerns;












10.


Condemns the rocket attacks launched from Lebanon and Syria into Israel; calls on Hezbollah and Palestinian militant groups in these countries to abstain from any act of aggression against Israel; calls, further, for the de-escalation of tensions in East Jerusalem and the West Bank;












11.


Calls for a humanitarian pause, de-escalation and full respect of international humanitarian law; recalls the necessity of finding a peaceful solution to the conflict; stresses that attacking civilians, including UN workers, medical workers and journalists, and civilian infrastructure is a serious violation of international law;












12.


Calls on the Commission and the Council to promptly initiate de-escalation measures aimed at averting the potential escalation of current tensions along the Israeli-Lebanese border into a full-scale conflict;












13.


Condemns, in the strongest possible terms, Iran’s support to the terrorist group Hamas and other terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip, and condemns Iran’s destabilising role in the region through its actions to incite violence and escalate the conflict, as well as its support to its proxy Hezbollah in the context of the attacks; reiterates its call to include the entirety of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hezbollah on the EU list of terrorist organisations and calls for a thorough investigation into the role of Iran, as well as other countries such as Qatar and Russia, in financing and supporting terrorism in the region;












14.


Reiterates its unwavering support for a negotiated two-state solution on the basis of the 1967 lines with two sovereign, democratic states living side by side in peace and guaranteed security, with Jerusalem as the capital of both states, and in full respect of international law; encourages the European External Action Service and the Member States to draw up a European initiative to put the two-state solution back on track; emphasises the absolute necessity of immediately relaunching the peace process;












15.


Calls on the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the EU Member States to continue to undertake urgent diplomatic action to address the situation with partners in the region and international partners, including at the UN Security Council, and to try their utmost to bring the parties to the table to address the situation in the region and work on resolving the root causes of the conflict;












16.


Underlines that uncoordinated statements and actions by various representatives of the EU led to an inconsistent approach towards the conflict; insists that the Commission and the Council must address the situation in a coordinated manner and with one voice to enable the EU to live up to its geopolitical ambitions;












17.


Urges the Commission to initiate a thorough review of all EU financial assistance to Palestine and the region in order to ensure that no EU funds directly or indirectly finance any terrorist organisation; underlines that the EU budget must continue to provide support for building peace and stability in the region, combating hate and fundamentalism and promoting human rights; calls on the Commission to provide the results to Parliament in its role as the budgetary authority as soon as possible; underscores that the humanitarian situation in the region is expected to worsen and calls on the Commission to reassess humanitarian aid needs in the region to ensure that EU funding continues to reach those in need of assistance;












18.


Calls on the Commission to urgently take a coordinating role with the Member States to guarantee the safe and swift evacuation and repatriation of any EU citizens who want to leave the region, based on solidarity among EU countries;












19.


Strongly condemns the attempted attacks on a Jewish synagogue in Berlin, hosting a community centre, a primary school and a kindergarten, on 18 October 2023, as well as other similar incidents in other European countries;












20.


Is concerned by the increase in antisemitic speeches, rallies and attacks directed towards Jewish people since the beginning of the terrorist group Hamas’s terrorist attacks; calls therefore on the Commission and the Member States to take all appropriate measures to guarantee the safety of the EU’s Jewish citizens, including providing immediate protection to schools and places of worship; strongly condemns the recent killings of a teacher in France and of two Swedish persons in Belgium committed by Islamic terrorists;












21.


Urges the Commission to take all necessary steps to ensure that Meta, X and TikTok abide by the rules set out in the Digital Services Act (1) and, where applicable, the EU Code of Practice on Disinformation and that strict measures be taken against these platforms should the spread of hateful and harmful content on them continue unhindered;












22.


Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the EU Special Representative for the Middle East Peace Process, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Knesset and the Government of Israel, the Palestinian Legislative Council and the Palestinian Authority and the Parliament and Government of Egypt.






(1)  Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on a Single Market For Digital Services and amending Directive 2000/31/EC (OJ L 277, 27.10.2022, p. 1).


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/2655/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)