Israel unable to stop Hamas attend IPU

Israeli efforts fail to prevent the participation of a delegation of parliamentarians from Hamas's Change and Reform party in the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), to meet the Union’s Human Rights Committee. Moshir al-Masri, head of the delegation, is expected to deliver a lecture at the University of Geneva on “crimes of the occupation”, whereas Israel is reconsidering its membership with the IPU. Israeli public radio station Reshet Bet stated that Knesset speaker Reuven Rivlin’s efforts to thwart the participation of a delegation representing Hamas MPs in the IPU have failed. Reshet Bet reported that the Hamas delegation, led by Moshir al-Masri, arrived a few days ago to Geneva and met the Human Rights Committee on Sunday, following an invitation sent to them by the Union. The Israeli radio station cited al-Masri saying that the visit of the parliamentary delegation from Hamas came upon an official invitation addressed to them by the IPU. The Israeli state radio wondered about the possible relation between Hamas and human rights, saying that IPU’s thinking “seems different”, for it invited members of a “terrorist movement”. It added that Moshir al-Masri is considered one of Hamas’s extremist leaders and has often “praised terrorist operations against Israel.” Meanwhile, Knesset Speaker stated that they are reconsidering Israel’s membership in the Union. Rivlin said that in addition to Knesset being a member of the IPU, Israel contributes in its funding, as it reportedly invests an annual sum of 250,000 shekels ($65,000/51,300 euros) to the body. "The president of the IPU, Anders Johnsson, promised me at a meeting last month in Geneva that he would not help Hamas gain international recognition," Rivlin said, explaining that Hamas’s participation pushes them to reconsider their membership. In the same context, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman commented, Monday, on decision of the Swiss-based IPU to invite Hamas movement to attend its 2012 session, saying that Hamas is a terrorist movement with accordance to the classification of the EU, which included them on the list of terrorist organizations. "This is just another example of international hypocrisy," Lieberman told Israeli public radio. "In all international organisations, the 57 Muslim countries and the many non-aligned nations have the majority and consistently take anti-Israel positions," he added. It is noteworthy that the Palestinian Authority has received full membership in IPU in 2008, which raised Israeli concerns of the possibility that Hamas representatives would reach the forum and gain international recognition. Reuven Rivlin said that the Palestinian Authority has to choose who to deal with, stating that Fatah is a known political movement, whereas Hamas is a terrorist movement. He added that Hamas wants to use the IPU to gain international recognition, which would be easier if the reconciliation succeeds.