An Egyptian court has declared the Palestinian movement Hamas a terrorist organization. The group, an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, called the decision “shocking and dangerous,” saying it shows that Egypt is “serving the Israeli enemy.”
“The court ruled that Hamas should be included as a terrorist
organization,” Samir Sabry, a lawyer involved in the case,
told Reuters.
The decision follows an Egyptian court’s ban on the Izza-Din
al-Qassam Brigades, an armed wing of Hamas, in January.
Authorities accused the group of smuggling weapons into the
country to provide assistance to Islamists fighting against the
current government.
They also alleged Hamas’ armed wing had planned and carried out
terrorist attacks in Egypt, including a shooting in Sinai on
January 29, in which 33 people were killed.
Egypt has for many years been the main mediator between Israel
and Hamas and helped reach agreements on ceasefires – including a
truce last August that stopped the war in Gaza, which is ruled by
Hamas. However, relations soured after the ousting of Mohamed
Morsi, who was backed by the Muslim Brotherhood.
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“The Egyptian court’s decision to list the Hamas movement as
a terror organization is shocking and is dangerous, and it
targets the Palestinian people and its factions of
resistance,” Hamas said on Saturday.
“They are now saying that the [Palestinian] resistance and
struggle against the occupation is a crime,” Ghazi Hamad,
deputy foreign minister for Hamas in Gaza, told Al Jazeera
following the ruling.
“With this politicized verdict, Egypt is serving the Israeli
enemy and is no longer an impartial sponsor to any Palestinian
issue,” Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman in the Gaza Strip,
told Anadolu Agency.
Hamas is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, which was also
listed as a terrorist organization in Egypt after Morsi was
toppled in 2013. On Saturday, a court in Cairo sentenced 14
members of the movement – including its head, Mohammed Badie – to
life in prison for inciting murder.
Hamas was created in 1987 with the declared aim to liberate
Palestine from Israeli occupation and to establish an Islamic
state. The military wing of Hamas has been launching attacks
against Israeli soldiers and civilians using suicide bombings and
rocket strikes.
The organization began taking part in politics in 2004. In 2005,
Hamas won 91 places of 118 in municipal elections. In 2006, it
won a majority in the Palestinian parliament.
Hamas is recognized as a terrorist organization by various
countries, including Israel, the US, Canada, and Japan.
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MORE: EU court removes Hamas from terror blacklist
However, the EU General Court ordered Hamas be removed from the
bloc’s terror blacklist last December. The court said the
decision to remove Hamas from the list was not based on an
examination of the group’s activities, but rather on an
examination of the procedures used to institute the 2003 ban.
However, a funding freeze against the group and sanctions against
its members will remain in place for three more months.