Hamas condemns international award to ‘war criminal’ Tzipi Livni
From 2001 to 2009, Livni served in the cabinets of Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert and, as foreign minister, she led multiple rounds of peace talks with the Palestinians.
By KHALED ABU TOAMEHTzipi Livni takes the podium at a press conference announcing her resignation from politics, February 18th, 2019(photo credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/ MAARIV)
Hamas on Wednesday condemned a decision by a German group to present an award to former foreign minister Tzipi Livni and accused her of “committing war crimes against Palestinians.”The Society for the Presentation of the International Bridge Prize of the European City Görlitz/Zgorzelec gives the €2,500 prize each year to personalities who have made a contribution to international understanding in Europe with their life’s work.The society said it decided to grant Livni the award “for standing for freedom of thought, democracy, openness and humanity.” Livni “has made a name for herself, particularly through her freedom-oriented peace policy and as a mediator,” the group said in a statement.With her “extraordinary personality, the [Israeli] politician also stood up to vehement opposition from parts of society for dissenters and minorities, and generated international attention with her efforts,” it said.Livni is the 25th recipient of the award, which has been handed out since 1993. Livni served in the cabinets of prime ministers Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert from 2001-2009. As foreign minister, she led multiple rounds of peace talks with the Palestinians.Hamas reacted to the decision by accusing Livni of “war crimes” against the Palestinians.“It is unfortunate to grant an international award to the war criminal Tzipi Livni, who committed war crimes against our people and killed more than 1,400 martyrs, most of them civilians, especially children, women and the elderly in the 2009 war,” Hamas spokesman Abdel Latif Qanou said in a statement.The war, also known as Operation Cast Lead, began on December 27, 2008, and ended on January 18, 2009. The Israeli government’s stated goal was to stop indiscriminate Palestinian fire rocket into Israel and weapons smuggling into the Gaza Strip.“This step encourages the criminal leaders of the occupation to commit more crimes,” the Hamas spokesman said, adding that granting Livni the award was a “desperate attempt to beautify her black face and clear her hand that is stained with the blood of our people.”The Geneva-based Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor (Euro-Med) organization also expressed opposition to the decision and called on the German Bridge Prize Society to withdraw its award to Livni.In a letter to Willi Xylander, president of the Bridge Prize Society for 2020, Euro-Med said it was “seriously concerned with the decision to award the prize to Livni, who is accused of war crimes against humanity in the blockaded Gaza Strip.”“Livni has worked relentlessly during the internationally condemned operation to whitewash Israel’s assault on Gaza’s civilian population,” Euro-Med said. “In that regard, we would like to emphasize that granting such a prize to an Israeli politician who stands accused of war crimes would essentially contribute to whitewashing the crimes of Israel’s occupation, if not further incentivize Israeli politicians to escalate atrocities against Palestinians.”
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