A senior member of the Hamas movement in Gaza denounced the silence of the international community, especially the European Union, about the complicity of more than 700 European financial institutions in supporting illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian lands.

He called on the international community, especially EU member states, to "take practical measures to prevent the continuous Zionist aggression against our people," most notably settler expansion and land control. He also called on EU members to impose sanctions on any entity that supports such "violations of international law."