Islam Online has reported that the chairman of the European Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza (ECESG) has reportedly met with the President of the European Parliament to discuss Israel policy in Gaza. According to the report:
Raising awareness about the impact of the Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip, European Muslims are pressing hard to lift the merciless blockade on the 1.6 million people in the enclave. “The European Muslim role in lifting the Israeli siege on Gaza is backed by humanitarian and legal principles, which go in line with the values championed by European governments and societies,” Dr. Arafat Madi, chairman of the European Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza (ECESG), told IsalmOnlne.net. “The importance of this role basically emanates from the weight of the European role in drawing up international policies.” Madi met this week with President of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek to discuss the crippling blockade on Gaza. “The meeting took up the importance of activating the European role in lifting the unjust siege on Gaza,” he said…“The ECESG has sought all political means to break the siege on Gaza,” noted the European Muslim leader. He said a series of meetings were held with most European lawmakers and decision-makers to discuss how to lift the blockade. “The ECESG has also contacted officials and governments across the continent to press for lifting the siege and having a more effective European role in the region to help restore the legitimate Palestinian rights.” “We have taken measures, in cooperation with European MPs, to file a lawsuit at the European Court of Justice to halt a partnership agreement between the European Union and Israel over the Israeli violation of the agreement, which stipulates respect of human rights,” Madi said. He said the Brussels-based ECESG has also played an important role in highlighting the impact of the siege. “It has also been rallying public support for the besieged Gazans via the media and organizing demonstrations and sits-in in front of government premises,” he said. “In addition, the ECESG launched media and awareness campaigns in universities as well as sending e-mails to highlight the impact of the siege to politicians, decision-makings, press and the media.” The ECESG has further organized several aid convoys to the blockaded strip, he said. “We also organized visits by European delegations to Gaza to assess the tragedy caused by the siege,” he said….Madi, the European Muslim leader, hopes that the Muslim efforts would bear fruits on lifting the Gaza blockade. “The siege on Gaza is a brazen violation of international law and norms,” he said. The ECESG chairman noted that the Israeli siege would never have continued without the West’s support. “This requires pressures on the decision-makers in the West, especially Europe, which plays an important role in efforts to lift the siege.”
Previous posts have discussed the campaign aimed at ending the Israeli blockade likely orchestrated by the global Muslim Brotherhood and its European representatives. A NEFA Foundation report documents the numerous ties between the ECESG and the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe (FIOE), essentially the Muslim Brotherhood in Europe. Recent posts have discussed plans by a British MP and the Campaign to launch legal action directed at the EU in regard to the Israeli blockade of Gaza and reported that a delegation from an anti-Gaza blockade campaign, likely the same group, had been expected to meet with high-ranking EU official Javier Solana.In addition to his role as charman of the ECESG, Arafat Madi (aka Arafat Madi Shoukri) is the executive director of the Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) which has also strong ties to the global Muslim Brotherhood. Two PRC directors are also directors of the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB), generally regarded as part of the UK. Muslim Brotherhood. The PRC is also listed as an affiliate of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) dominated by UK. Muslim Brotherhood groups. PRC activities are frequently promoted by the MAB, MCB, and other U.K Brotherhood organizations. PRC director Ghassan Four is also a Trustee of INTERPAL, a key member of the Union of Good and part of the Muslim Brotherhood Hamas fund-raising network . PRC director Zaher Birawi is a Trustee of Education Aid for Palestine (EAP), also a part of the Union of Good. Mr. Birawi is also head of programming for Al-Hiwar TV which frequently features MB/Hamas individuals and organizations and was founded by Azzam Al-Tamimi, a U.K Muslim Brotherhood leader and close to Hamas. An Israeli web site, known to be close to Israeli military intelligence, has reported that Mr. Birawi, along with another PRC Trustee, are “past Hamas operatives who found refuge in Britain in the early nineties.”
The PRC has also been the co-sponsor of several conferences in Europe associated with Hamas. For example, the PRC was the co-sponsor of the Sixth Palestinians In Europe Conference which featured Nihad Awad of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), former US. Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammad Akram Al-Adlouni, and Raed Salah, a leader of the Islamic Movement in Israel and close to Hamas. The 2009 conference was addressed via video link by Gaza Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.