ABSTRACT
This chapter scrutinizes controversial concepts, particularly terrorism and resistance in the European Union (EU)–Hamas context, which constitute the main axis around which both actors are still at variance. It investigates the EU's myopic policy towards Israel versus its open-eyed policy towards Hamas. The chapter analyses Hamas' resistance logic and the continuously biased nature of the EU's response in the light of international law. Terrorism is a concept that has accompanied the Palestinian factions throughout the Arab–Israeli conflict. The Fatah movement, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and other Palestinian groups, had been regarded as terrorist organizations that would be subject to boycotting and banning by the West, and had been largely dealt with on the basis of this perception. In accordance with Islamic Shari'a law, avoiding harm to civilians during conflicts with enemies is a religiously motivated principle that in theory has been adopted by Hamas.
