ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book discusses the tension between the European Union (EU) and Hamas is an extension of the implicitly and explicitly felt historical tension between the West and the Islamic East over time, which is based on the conflictual interaction between the identities and interests of both. It highlights the paradoxes pertaining to the EU's discourse towards Hamas. The book then discusses the Israeli factor as a self-driving determinant of the EU's foreign policy towards Hamas, indicating the significance of the socially constructed mix of identities and self-interests, and this created specific rules for breaking the EU's commitment to its previously declared inspiring norms. It also discusses the influence of the United States (US) factor on EU decision-making regarding Hamas.
