CAIRO
An Egyptian court on Saturday designated Palestinian movement Hamas as a "terrorist" group, a judicial source has said.
Cairo's Urgent Matters Court has labeled Hamas as a "terrorist organization," the source, who declined to be named, told Then Anadolu Agency.
Saturday's verdict comes even though the case was rejected by a different circuit of the Urgent Matters Court for "lack of jurisdiction."
Lawyer Samir Sabri had filed a lawsuit calling for labeling Hamas a "terrorist" movement, claiming the group had "carried out terrorist attacks in Egypt through tunnels linking the Sinai Peninsula to the Gaza Strip.
In March 2014, the same court outlawed Hamas' activities in Egypt and confiscated its offices.
The court had said that the ban would be temporary until another court – which is trying ousted President Mohamed Morsi for alleged "collaboration" with Hamas to carry out "hostile" acts in Egypt – delivers its final verdict.
Last month, a court declared the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, a terrorist organization.
A number of Hamas members have been among the defendants in two trials that Morsi – a Muslim Brotherhood leader – currently faces for alleged espionage and jailbreak.
Egypt's media has blamed Hamas, an ideological offshoot of the Brotherhood, for a series of deadly attacks on security forces since Morsi's ouster. Hamas has consistently denied the allegations.
Egypt no longer 'impartial sponsor': Hamas
Palestinian faction Hamas said Saturday that Egypt is no longer an impartial sponsor following an Egyptian court decision designating the movement as a "terrorist organization."
"With this politicized verdict, Egypt is serving the Israeli enemy and is no longer an impartial sponsor to any Palestinian issue," Hamas spokesman in the Gaza Strip Fawzi Barhoum told The Anadolu Agency.
Egypt has been playing a major role in the reconciliation process between rival groups Hamas and Fatah since the former took control of the Strip in the summer of 2007.
It has also mediated a cease-fire between Palestinian factions and Israel, under which a 51-day Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, which left at least 2,160 Palestinians dead, came to an end.
Earlier Saturday, an Egyptian court designated Hamas as a "terrorist" group over claims that the group had carried out terrorist attacks in Egypt through tunnels linking the Sinai Peninsula to the Gaza Strip.
Barhoum suggested that Saturday's court verdict was "in coordination" between Egypt and Israel with the aim of "targeting" the Palestinian resistance.
"Unfortunately, the situation has been turned upside down: Israel the enemy has become a friend of Egypt while Hamas – which is an integral part of the Palestinian people – has become a terrorist," Barhoum said.
The spokesman, however, said that Hamas will not be affected by the Egyptian court verdict as it came to "export Egypt's domestic problems."
In March 2014, the same Egyptian court outlawed Hamas' activities in Egypt and confiscated its offices.
The court had said that the ban would be temporary until another court – which is trying ousted President Mohamed Morsi for alleged "collaboration" with Hamas to carry out "hostile" acts in Egypt – delivers its final verdict.
Last month, a court declared the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, a terrorist organization.
A number of Hamas members have been among the defendants in two trials that Morsi – a Muslim Brotherhood leader – currently faces for alleged espionage and jailbreak.
Egypt's media has blamed Hamas, an ideological offshoot of the Brotherhood, for a series of deadly attacks on security forces since Morsi's ouster. Hamas has consistently denied the allegations.
