Defending Israel

Anti-Muslim European MPs tour West Bank settlements

Austrian opposition leader Heinz-Christian Strache says after what was done to Diaspora Jewry the Europeans are responsible for the Jewish people.

By Chaim Levinson

European members of parliament affiliated with right-wing and anti-Muslim parties took a tour of West Bank settlements on Monday, to get a look at the the lives and various activities of Israel's right-wing activists.

	European members of Parliament on West Bank tour, Monday, Dec. 6, 2010.
	Photo by: Shomron Regional Council

The Austrian Opposition leader Heinz-Christian Strache, who has a viable chance of being elected the next Austrian chancellor, said that in order to understand the problems of the region one has to visit and see for themselves.

He added that the Europeans were responsible to ensure that the Jewish people had a secure future after what was done to them in the Diaspora.

Strache was joined by officials from Austria, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Britain, and Sweden, who were guided through the settlements by Shomron Regional Council chairman Gershon Mesika.

"The parliament members on the tour in the Shomron region all battle Islamic extremism and the spreading of terror organizations in Europe, while explicitly supporting the state of Israel," Mesika said.

"We who then the importance of the Shomron for the state of Israel, both as a cradle of culture and the roots of the people of Israel, and as the belt [of land] defending Israel.

European countries must understand that without a state of Israel there is no one to stop the Muslim wave from eroding Europe, and without Judea and Samaria, Israel is unable to exist," Mesika added.

The officials visited the industrial area in the settlements if Barkan and Elon Moreh, as well as the Har Bracha Yeshiva, where they dined with head Rabbi Eliezer Melamed.

Top Belgian MP Filip Dewinter said during a press conference following the tour, that contrary to their first impressions and prior beliefs about the region, the settlements are not a temporary phenomenon, and are a necessary part of Israel for both geo-political and security reasons.

Published online at Haaretz.com, 7 December 2010

Labels: European Union, Holocaust, Israel, Middle East

posted by Pieface @ Tuesday, December 07, 2010