Borrell Accuses Israel of ‘Creating’ and ‘Financing’ Hammas

Josep Borrell, the EU’s top diplomat, has made a controversial statement accusing Israel of creating and financing Hamas, the Palestinian militant group. This assertion comes amidst the backdrop of recent reaffirmations by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding his opposition to the creation of a Palestinian state. This stance has led to criticism from the United States, which continues to advocate for a two-state solution.

Borrell’s remarks were delivered during a speech at the University of Valladolid in Spain, where he received an honorary doctorate. He emphasized that Israel’s alleged actions to establish Hamas were part of an effort to weaken the Palestinian Authority of Fatah. Borrell warned that without strong intervention, the cycle of hate and violence in the region would perpetuate.

Hamas, established in December 1987 following the first Palestinian intifada, originated from a group of Islamist militants linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, including Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. The group was formed partly as a counter to the Islamic Jihad militant group and as a competitor to the primarily secular Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) led by Yasser Arafat.

In June 2007, Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip after a conflict with the Fatah movement led by Mahmoud Abbas, Arafat’s successor and president of the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the occupied West Bank. In recent years, the Gaza Strip, under Hamas’s control and Israeli blockade, has received significant aid from Qatar, raising critiques about Netanyahu’s government possibly facilitating funding for Hamas, a claim that Netanyahu denies.