Posted on 10/11/23
| News Source: Arutz-7
The three presidents of the European Union, European Commission President Ursala Von Der Leyen, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, and European Council President Charles Michel, participated on Wednesday in a solidarity rally for Israel outside the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, in light of the murderous Hamas invasion into the south of the country on Saturday.
During the rally, a moment of silence was held in memory of the over 1,200 victims of the surprise attack.
European Commission President Ursala Von Der Leyen stated, "At the dawn of Shabbat last Saturday, the whole world woke up in horror. Hundreds of innocent people were murdered in cold blood.
Hamas terrorists killed women and children in their homes. They hunted hundreds of young men and women who were celebrating life and music. They took hostage hundreds of innocents whose fate is still unknown. These innocents were killed for one single reason. For being Jewish and living in the State of Israel."
She continued: "It is an ancient evil which reminds us of the darkest past and shocks all of us to the core. We have to be clear in defining this kind of horror. It is terrorism. And it is an act of war. This was the worst attack inside Israel since the creation of the State.
And there can only be one response to it. Europe stands with Israel. And we fully support Israel's right to defend itself. I spoke with President Herzog and conveyed to him my full support."
Later in her address, Von Der Leyen stated: "This is a tragedy for Israel, for the Jewish people, and also for Europe. There can be no justification for Hamas' act of terror. This has nothing to do with the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people. The horror that Hamas has unleashed will bring more suffering upon innocent Palestinians."
She clarified that "only Hamas is responsible for its actions. Our humanitarian support to the Palestinian people is not in question. Yet, it is important that we carefully review our financial assistance for Palestine. EU funding has never and will never go to Hamas or any terrorist entity. So, we will now again review the entire portfolio in light of an evolving situation on the ground."