The European Commission has denounced claims that some of its staff may hold sympathies for Hamas, calling the allegations “unsubstantiated”.
Responding to a written question submitted by Identity and Democracy (ID) group politician Filip De Man, the EC insisted all staff belonging to the European External Action Service (EEAS) conduct themselves with “objectivity and solely with the interest of the EU” when abroad.
Any claims to the contrary, it added, were unfounded.
“The EEAS is confident that all staff in EU diplomatic missions, including local agents, act in accordance with such instructions and firmly rejects any unsubstantiated claims that would imply the contrary,” the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said on behalf of the body.
Borrell, the EC’s so-called diplomacy tsar, insisted that no member of the EEAS would likely be influenced by any foreign government or body and that background checks into each representative confirmed their loyalty to the European Union.
“Unsubstantiated claims or insinuations of possible sympathies between EU staff and terrorist organisations, such as Hamas,” he said, “risk to further feed the ongoing disinformation campaigns in relation to the current situation in the Middle East and may jeopardise the security of EU staff and diplomatic missions.”
LEAK: UNRWA admits ‘munitions’ were cached in its Gaza facilities
Brussels Signal has received a leaked document that indicates UNRWA – the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East – fears “munitions” have been stored on its premises in Gaza… pic.twitter.com/EQJgzBqVlH
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) March 7, 2024
The body’s denunciation of the claims came amid criticism of the EC’s involvement in Palestine, with politicians on all sides accusing it of unwarranted bias.
Much of the current controversy surrounds the EC’s continued funding of the United Nations’ Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) after some staff there were linked to the kidnapping and murder of Jewish civilians on October 7, 2022.
While the EC did initially announce it would investigate the delivery of funds to UNRWA, it later confirmed it would continue delivering cash to the agency, prompting criticism from Israel.
The previous actions of an EU official in the region also raised eyebrows.
A few months before the Hamas terrorists’ attacks on Israel, an EU envoy managed to sneak his paraglider into Gaza, later performing a stunt flight over the region’s coast apparently to raise awareness of suffering faced by Palestinians.
The incident has spurred more controversy over the intervening period as a result of Hamas forces using their own paragliders on October 7 to penetrate Israel’s defences and massacre many hundreds of the country’s civilians.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), funded by the European Union, employs “more than 450 terrorists”, Israel says. https://t.co/1jrUpcqbBc
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) March 5, 2024
