By Ilan Weinglass
Recent attempts by Britain to dialogue with Hizballah, and a planned address by Khaled Mashaal to Britsh MPs, may well be the result of a lobbying effort funded by the European Union. Jonathan Spyer, in an article yesterday, reports that The Conflicts Forum, which openly acknowledges attempts to legitimize Hamas and Hizballah, received a 500,000 Euro grant from the European Union in 2007. In other words, The EU is funding a group trying to change EU policy.
Some excerpts from the article:
A cursory observation of the backers of Conflicts Forum, however, reveals a curious paradox. In January 2007, the group proudly announced that it had been awarded a grant of €500,000 by the EU, to develop "more inclusive and legitimate approaches to transforming the Middle East conflict." More specifically, the project entails the "engagement" of "faith-based movements."
So the EU, while currently opposing "engagement" with Hamas, also appears to be offering financial support to a body engaged in lobbying for the organization.
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