ABSTRACT
This chapter examines inconsistencies in the European Union (EU)'s discourse regarding its norms and values in the context of the Palestinian democracy which brought Hamas to power in 2006. It examines the EU's Security Strategy, which constitutes the basis for understanding the context in which Hamas can be labelled a terrorist organization, and the subsequent EU policies towards the movement. The chapter investigates the issue of promoting the values of democracy and human rights, along with the EU's support for the emergency status declared by the President of the PA, Mahmoud Abbas, at the expense of these norms. By the late 1970s and influenced by the triumph of Iran's Islamic Revolution in 1979 and the retreat of Arab nationalism following the death of Jamal Abdul Nasser, the Muslim Brotherhood Movement (MBM) started to regain its strength and regional presence. Hamas developed its means of fighting incrementally, becoming in the process more violent and attacking Israeli military and civilian objectives alike.
