A ''Group of Friends of Judea and Samaria'' has been established for the first time in the European Parliament in Brussels.

The announcement of the creation of this group took place during a conference ‘‘Israel and the West Bank, Facts & Myths’’ organized Tuesday in the EU parliament at the initiative of the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy (EFDD) political group.

Petr Mach, a Slovakian Member of this group, who hosted the conference, explained to European Jewish Press (EJP) the reasons behind the establishment of the group. ‘’After my first visit in Israel and the region of Samaria (the northern part of the West Bank) I found that the EU is imposing tariffs on Jewish goods while it is not imposing tariffs on Palestinian goods. I also found that Europeans taxpayers’money is used for the Palestinian Authority (PA) to support terrorism against Israel. We want the EU to be fair.’’

‘’That’s why I decided with Yossi Dagan, head of the Samaria Regional Council, to establish this group. The purpose of this group is to pressure the European Commission to stop funding Palestinian terrorists and to stop imposing tariffs on Jewish goods. This conference is part of this effort,’’ Mach said. ''We understand that the territory is disputed but there is no reason for the EU to adopt a discriminatory measure and to apply double standards to what it calls the West Bank.''

He continued: ‘’The EU should accept the reality which is that in this area of Judeamaria both Palestinians and Jews are living with their families, they have their jobs. It should be accepted. I think peace can be established by both communities in negotiatiions. Peace cannot come from above, neither from the EU or the UN.’’

During the conference, 15 Members of the European Parliament signed a Declaration calling for an end to the labelling of products manufactured in Judea and Samaria, to combat the delegitimization created by organisations such as BDS (Boycott,Divestment, Sanctions). ‘’We call on all the members of the European Parliament to support the strengthening of the Jewsish People in the State of Israel and the ensuring of its continued existence by stopping legislation and activity detrimental to the only democracy in the Middle East, and that strengthens terrorist organizatrions,’’ reads the declaration.

Attendees were proposed to taste some products manufactured in Judea and Samaria, such as wine, dates and olive oil, as a way to challenge the EU’s labelling measure.

‘’In the European Parliament you only hear one side of the story. You never hear the people of Judea and Samaria. This is the reason why we are here today,’’ said Yossi Dagan.

Among other speakers was Moshe Lev-Ran, manager of a plastic products plant located in the Barkan Industrial Area of Samaria where thousands Palestinians work together with Israelis. ‘’Their salaries are the same and they supports the families of the Palestinians. The only people to suffer from the boycott of our products or the EU labelling are the Palestinians,’’ he said.

The conference also heard the moving testimony of Ayala Shapira, a 13-year-ol girl who was severely injured in a terror attack when a Molotov cocktail bomb that was thrown by a terrorist hit her and her father’s car, setting hit afire. Ayala suffered third-degree burns covering more than half of her body. She weared a special mask to protect her face.

While the life of Ayala and her family has changed for the worse, the life of the terrorists' families have changed for the better, because they receive a monthly salary from the Palestinian Authority.

“This is money they receive from you, from the countries of the European Union, who transfer hundreds of millions of euros a year to the Palestinian Authority without any supervision,” said Ruth Shapira, Ayala’s mother, who also spoke.

“I call out to you, members of the European Parliament, members of the Group of Friends of Judea and Samaria – to stop this Kafka-esque absurdity; to stop the encouragement of killing and destroying families done by the countries this House represents,” she added.