The three presidents of the European Union, European Commission President Ursala Von Der Leyen, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, and European Council President Charles Michel, participated on Wednesday in a solidarity rally for Israel outside the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, in light of the murderous Hamas invasion into the south of the country on Saturday.
During the rally, a moment of silence was held in memory of the over 1,200 victims of the surprise attack.
European Commission President Ursala Von Der Leyen stated, "At the dawn of Shabbat last Saturday, the whole world woke up in horror. Hundreds of innocent people were murdered in cold blood.
Hamas terrorists killed women and children in their homes. They hunted hundreds of young men and women who were celebrating life and music. They took hostage hundreds of innocents whose fate is still unknown. These innocents were killed for one single reason. For being Jewish and living in the State of Israel."
She continued: "It is an ancient evil which reminds us of the darkest past and shocks all of us to the core. We have to be clear in defining this kind of horror. It is terrorism. And it is an act of war. This was the worst attack inside Israel since the creation of the State.
And there can only be one response to it. Europe stands with Israel. And we fully support Israel's right to defend itself. I spoke with President Herzog and conveyed to him my full support."
Later in her address, Von Der Leyen stated: "This is a tragedy for Israel, for the Jewish people, and also for Europe. There can be no justification for Hamas' act of terror. This has nothing to do with the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people. The horror that Hamas has unleashed will bring more suffering upon innocent Palestinians."
She clarified that "only Hamas is responsible for its actions. Our humanitarian support to the Palestinian people is not in question. Yet, it is important that we carefully review our financial assistance for Palestine. EU funding has never and will never go to Hamas or any terrorist entity. So, we will now again review the entire portfolio in light of an evolving situation on the ground."
"Finally, the current situation will have a major impact on the region. We will have to work to contain its destabilizing effects, including on the ongoing rapprochement between Israel and its Arab neighbors. We will also have to monitor closely Iran's posture, given its long-standing support to Hamas. Over the coming days, we have to be united and coordinated. But my message is clear. Europe stands with Israel. Europe stands with our friend and partner," she concluded.
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola stated: "October 7th is a day that will go down in global infamy. The world has witnessed Jews being murdered simply because they were Jewish. Again. In Israel."
Metsola continued: "We are here with the President of the European Council, the President of the European Commission, and all of you - as one - to express our solidarity, to condemn the appalling acts of terror and murder, and to demand the immediate release of hostages.
Europe stands ready to help broker resolutions, but I have said it before, and it bears repeating - There is no justification for terrorism."
She emphasized: "Hamas is a terrorist organization. They do not represent the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people. They do not offer solutions. They offer bloodshed.
It helps to speak plainly. On October 7th, Hamas murdered more than a thousand innocent babies, children, women, and men and still hold close to 100 more hostage. They opened fire on hundreds of young people at a music event, killing indiscriminately - including EU nationals. They abducted young girls and boys. They took elderly Holocaust survivors and dragged them out of their homes. They paraded dead people through the streets like trophies,
This is not a time for whataboutism. We have to be clear about what we are talking about: this is terror in its worst form," she concluded.