Egypt court blacklists Hamas militants as 'terror group'

An Egyptian court on Saturday banned al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas as "a terrorist organization."

"The court decided to ban the al-Qassam Brigades and to list it as a terrorist group, deeming all those belonging to it as terrorists," said a judiciary official of Cairo Urgent Matters Court.

The court ruling came two days after a series of bloody attacks occurred in Egypt's restive Sinai Peninsula and killed at least 33 soldiers and policemen.

According to the official, al-Qassam Brigades was accused of carrying out terrorist attacks and killing over 30 people in late October 2014. The group was also blamed for supporting the blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood, from which ousted Islamist President Mohamed Morsi hailed.

The lawyer who filed the lawsuit against Hamas accused its armed wing of taking part in many acts of aggression against the Egyptian Armed Forces and the police.

"Al-Qassam Brigades and the mother organization Hamas continued financing and joining terrorist operations on the Egyptian soil using the secret tunnels at the borders with the Gaza Strip for smuggling weapons," the claimant said, accusing Hamas of attempting to jeopardize Egypt's security and stability.

In response, Hamas denounced the ruling as "politicized, dangerous and unprecedented," arguing the decision only serves the Israeli occupation.

"Hamas, which is a liberation movement that only fights the Israeli occupation, completely rejects the court's decision and rejects pushing its name into the internal Egyptian affair," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told Xinhua in an emailed statement, adding that "the Egyptian court has to preview its decision immediately."

In March 2014, the same Egyptian court ordered banning all activities and offices of Hamas in Egypt, considering the Palestinian movement an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Since Morsi's ouster in July 2013, Egyptian authorities have been working to fight against Islamist militant groups based in the Sinai Peninsula, some were accused of having links with the Hamas movement.

Islamist militants killed hundreds of security personnel in Sinai, especially the northern district, which shares a border with Hamas-ruling Gaza Strip.

Egypt has recently extended a curfew in many parts of North Sinai for another three months due to the unstable security conditions in the area and the recurrent terrorist attacks targeting security men and premises.

The government has also been evacuating houses at the borderline with Gaza to create a buffer zone and intensify anti-terror military operations in the northern peninsula.

Commenting on Sinai attacks, President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said on Saturday that "Egypt is facing the strongest secret organization in the world," referring to the Brotherhood and accusing the group of involving in the deadly attacks, which were claimed by the Sinai-based al-Qaida-inspired Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (ABM) group.

"We will not leave Sinai for anyone. Sinai would either be for Egyptians or we would rather die," Sisi stressed, urging the judiciary to make fast moves in accordance with Egypt's war against terrorism and the media to elevate the people's spirit.

Sisi's remarks came after his meeting with the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces over Sinai attacks, where he made a presidential decree to form a unified military leadership for the region of eastern the Suez Canal for fighting terrorism.

Anti-security attacks mounted in Sinai and other parts across the country since Morsi's ouster and the following crackdown on his supporters that left about 1,000 killed and thousands more arrested.

The attacks targeting security forces have left hundreds killed. Most of the attacks were claimed by the ABM group that has recently changed its name to "Sinai State" after declaring loyalty to the Islamic State militant group straddling Iraq and Syria.

Morsi's loyalists led by the Brotherhood have been staging anti-government protests denouncing his ouster as "a coup."

Apart from those who fled the country, most of the Brotherhood leading members including Morsi himself are currently in custody over various charges including provoking violence and inciting killing of anti-Brotherhood protesters.

Morsi is facing other charges such as involvement in the 2011 jailbreak, espionage, leaking classified documents to Qatar, ordering the killing of protesters and insulting the judiciary.

On Saturday, an Egyptian court said it would issue in May the final verdict on Morsi's espionage trial whose penalty could reach a death sentence if convicted.

In the espionage case, Morsi and 35 other leading Brotherhood members are accused of cooperating with foreign organizations including Hamas, Lebanon's Hezbollah and Iran's Revolutionary Guards to destabilize Egypt.

Being a close ally to Morsi and his group, Hamas is not in good terms with the current Egyptian military-oriented leadership under Sisi.

However, in late August last year, Egypt brokered a comprehensive truce between the Palestinians and Israel after a 51-day Israeli offensive on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip that left more than 2,000 Palestinians killed and 11,000 wounded, while Hamas attacks killed at least 73 Israelis.

Later in September, Cairo host two-day negotiations between the two rival Palestinian movements Fatah and Hamas and they ended up with agreement on all the outstanding issues.

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