Kalev Stoicescu (Eesti 200), committee chair, said: "The Palestinians must understand that Hamas is not made up of freedom fighters, but of brutal terrorists, whose aim is not a normally functioning state of Palestine, but killing people, and to be precise, killing Jews."

Stoicescu (pictured) was speaking while on a visit to Israel earlier this week, and added that the while Palestinians have a right to their own state, these rights do not extend to terror groups.

The MP pointed out that support for Hamas among the general population in Gaza runs at 60 percent, while in the West Bank it is even higher, at 80 percent, he said, citing polls.

Stoicescu was joined on the visit by committee member Meelis Kiili (Reform) and the chair of the Estonia-Israel Parliamentary Friendship Group, Eerik-Niiles Kross (Reform).

The official visit ran from Sunday to Thursday this week and was part of an international delegation which also included representatives from Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, France and the US.

The MPs met with counterparts from the Knesset, and with high-level Ministry of Foreign Affairs and National Security Council representatives, who provided the delegation with an overview of the circumstances surrounding Hamas attack starting October 7 last year, along with the aims and prospects of Israel's current military operation.

Stoicescu said that Estonia and other two Baltic states' representatives had raised issues relating to Russia's aggression at the meetings, and drew parallels between Hamas and Putin's Russia. "Israel has not provided lethal aid to Ukraine so far, but this may change," he added.

The Estonian delegation also highlighted Russian propaganda channels which are still broadcast freely in Israel, which has a large Russian-speaking population, but whose broadcast is banned in the Baltic states and much of Europe.

On this, Stoicescu said: "Representatives of the Baltic states and Israel agreed upon the need to have closer mutual contacts in the future to exchange information and discuss the situation," via a Riigkogu press release.

The delegation visited Erez Crossing, the line between the Gaza Strip and Israel which was first breached by Hamas on the morning of October 7, as well as visiting the Kfar Aza kibbutz and the site of the Nova music festival, which had both been the scenes of hundreds of atrocities in the initial wave of attacks.

"During Israel's military operation, a large number of civilians in the Gaza Strip have been injured and killed, and many Western allies have called on Israel to minimize the number of civilian casualties as much as possible, considering the specific nature of the operation, ie. the hiding of Hamas members among the civilian population," Stoicescu noted.

The MPs also visited Israeli space industry production facilities.

The visit was organized by European Leadership Network, which promotes relations between Europe and Israel.

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