(Strasbourg) “I have terrible memories of my visit” to the Middle East which “will stay with me forever”. The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, opened the plenary session in Strasbourg talking about the Hamas attack and Israel’s response. She talked about the “innocent lives” lost in the conflict, called for the immediate release of the hostages, insisted that humanitarian aid must reach the populations involved, and stated: “Civilians must not be targeted”. A few days ago, President Metsola travelled to Israel with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. She reiterated that Hamas is “a terrorist organization” that has committed “atrocities”: murders, unprecedented violence, rapes… “There is no reason”, “there are no excuses” for such violence. “Hamas does not represent the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinians”. She then called again for “the suffering of the populations involved” to be alleviated. And she mentioned the attacks on Israeli kibbutzim and the terrible situation in which the people of the Gaza Strip live. “Parliament will continue to call for a lasting peace” ensured by a “two peoples, two states” solution. She stressed that the Israeli authorities and “the legitimate Palestinian representatives” (that is to say, President Abu Mazen, not Hamas) must commit to a de-escalation. Finally, she referred to the extraordinary meeting that the 27 EU leaders will have online tomorrow to agree a common position – that has not been reached so far – on the situation in the Middle East.