SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTRE
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Wiesenthal Center to Italian PM: Your Appeasement Of Hamas Will Encourage Further Atrocities

Paris, 25 April 2007

In a letter to Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, the Simon Wiesenthal Centre's Director for International Relations, Dr Shimon Samuels, expressed his membership's deep concern at Prodi's declaration this week in Riyadh: "You are quoted in L'UNITA, of 22 April, as stating that 'Italy strives for a democratic and cooperative Hamas, rather than its marginalization, especially in that its elimination seems hardly realistic...' This citation also notes your agreement with the Saudi position that 'the Israelis cannot recognize one part of a government and not the other...'"

Samuels suggested to Prodi: "If only Europe had isolated the 1932 democratically elected German coalition that included the Nazi Party as its junior partner! 'Mein Kampf', Hitler's manifesto for destruction was public knowledge. Currently, no-one can claim ignorance of the exterminationist Charter of Hamas."

The letter continued: "The Palestinian unity government is not the recent, democratically elected, Austrian coalition led by Haider which the European Union quarantined, while cooperating in parallel with its non-Haider elements. Europe had proudly determined to expel Haider from Austrian politics, though his People's Party was hardly the danger of a Hamas bent upon 'Jihad'."

Samuels added, "The Quartet had conditioned the Middle East peace process on Palestinian rejection of terrorism. Following the election of Hamas, the European Union added its own commitment to isolate the Palestinian government until it accepts three conditions: an end to terrorism, acceptance of all prior agreements, and recognition of Israel as a peace partner. The European Union has inscribed both the political and military wings of Hamas in its list of terrorist organizations. Indeed, only yesterday, Hamas claimed credit for firing 40 rockets and 70 mortars into Israel over the weekend. Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh publicly and unashamedly announced the end of Hamas' regularly violated truce with Israel."

"Yet, Mr Prime Minister, you endorse this terrorist cancer that is destroying any hope for a peace-seeking Palestine, an ideological movement that threatens regional and global stability."

Recalling that "Italy waged an uncompromising war on its own home-grown Red Brigades, until that terrorism was crushed and declared 'repentant'", Samuels asked: "Why then would you violate Italy's obligations to the Quartet and to the European Union?
Are the innocent targets of Palestinian terror less worthy of life and security than were the victims of the Red Brigades?"

The Centre urged Prodi to realize that his "appeasement of Hamas will inevitably encourage further atrocities", and thus "to publicly withdraw his Riyadh statement rather than bear the moral responsibility for its consequences."

For further information, please contact Shimon Samuels at +33.609.77.01.58