Foreign governments stunned at Hamas victory

European Union warns of possible fund cutoff
European Union foreign ministers who meet Monday will discuss what to do, and German leader Angela Merkel will visit Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli leaders. Austria, which holds the EU’s rotating presidency, issued a statement on behalf of the 25-nation bloc stating “there is no place in a political process for groups or individuals who advocate violence.”

“Of course, we recognize the mandate for Hamas because the people have spoken,” British Prime Minister Tony Blair said. “But I think it is also important for Hamas to understand that there comes a point, and that point is now following that strong showing, where they have to decide between a path of democracy or a path of violence.”

The EU has given millions of euros in aid to the Palestinian Authority to help reconstruction efforts in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank— funding that was called into question following Hamas’ win. A senior European Parliament lawmaker, Elmar Brok, warned of a possible cutoff of aid if Hamas did not change its policies.

“It is obvious that the EU would never countenance funding a regime that continued an armed fight against Israel,” said Ignasi Guardans, a Spanish member of the parliament. “But we cannot push for democracy and then deny the result of free and fair elections.”

Support from Muslim countries
At a summit of global leaders and business chiefs in Switzerland, the leaders of Pakistan and Afghanistan argued that Hamas should be given a chance to change.

“If the people of Palestine have expressed their will by voting for Hamas, we should respect it and give Hamas a chance to prove itself while in government,” Afghan President Hamid Karzai told the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Pakistan’s Musharraf said taking responsibility for the development and security of the Palestinians would challenge Hamas to change.

He said the world’s response should be: “Don’t shut the door on Hamas, let us evaluate what their attitudes are and let’s put pressure on them to behave in the right manner.

“An equal amount of pressure will have to be put on the other side, on Israel. While one accepts the reality of Israel, we have to accept the reality of the creation of a Palestinian homeland. And let’s give Hamas a chance.”

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