http://www.eubusiness.com/afp/030905163937.48gisixg
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said Friday he hopes EU ministers will agree to ban the political wing of radical Islamic group Hamas, which has split the bloc in recent months.
He said the EU had given Hamas a "last chance" when it announced a ceasefire in June, but said the chance was effectively rejected by a suicide bomb on August 18 in Jerusalem.
"I think the case against Hamas - its so-called political wing as well as its military wing - is now overwhelming," he said in the sidelines of a meeting with his EU counterparts in Italy.
"What we are dealing with here is a single organization which despicably claimed responsibility for the terrible suicide bomb in Jerusalem ... which took so many lives including the lives of complete innocent women and children.
"This is no way to advance peace and justice for the Palestinians," he said.
Britain and the Netherlands have led the call for Hamas' non-military linked groups to be banned. But a group including France, Belgium and Greece has opposed the move, claiming it would be counterproductive.
"We gave Hamas a chance. We were about to outlaw them in June and early July. We agreed that since they had announced a ... ceasefire we would give them a chance," said Straw.
"It's perfectly plain that they have failed to take that chance. In my judgment therefore the European Union does need to to outlaw them. I think that is the very broad consensus. I hope it turns into a unanimous decision."