Hamas asks Arabs to redress Egypt’s blacklisting of group as “terrorist”

Hamas on Saturday afternoon urged the Arab states to take measures to redress an Egyptian court ruling earlier in the day, branding the group as “terrorist.” “We call on the Arab states to take measures to redress the decision of the court,” Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said in a statement. He described the ruling as a “collapse” of Egypt’s stance toward the Palestinian cause.

Abu Zuhri further denounced the applause the court ruling received inside Israel. Israel’s candidate for defense minister Amos Yadlin, meanwhile, welcomed the decision of the Egyptian court, describing it as “important.”

Earlier in the day, an Egyptian court of urgent matters designated Hamas as a “terrorist” organization. The Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) chairmanship condemned Egypt’s blacklisting of Hamas as a terrorist group, branding the move illegal and politicized.

The PLC chairmanship afternoon Saturday urged, in a press statement released by its media office, the Arab League to immediately step in and work on having Egypt reconsider such an anti-Hamas decision. The PLC chairmanship further appealed to the world’s free people and Egyptian activists to voice firm rebuff of the decision, pointing to Hamas’s adoption of a policy of non-interference regarding Egypt’s home affairs. The statement reiterated Hamas’s insistence to face up to the Israeli occupation—the group’s only enemy.