"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 Egyptian court’s ban on the Izza-Din al-Qassam Brigades, an armed wing of Hamas, in Egypt that was pronounced in January. The authorities accused the group of smuggling weapons into the country to provide assistance to Islamists who fight against the current government. They also alleged Hamas’ armed wing had planned and carried out terrorist attacks in Egypt, including the shooting in Sinai on January 29, in which 33 people were killed.
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Egypt has for many years been the main mediator between Israel and Hamas and helped to reach agreements on ceasefires, including a truce last August that stopped the war in Gaza which is ruled by Hamas. However, the relations have soured after the ousting of Mohamed Morsi, who was backed by Muslim Brotherhood.
"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," the Hamas statement said Saturday.
"They are now saying that the [Palestinian] resistance and struggle against the occupation is a crime," Ghazi Hamad, a deputy foreign minister for Hamas in Gaza told Al Jazeera following the ruling.
A source also hinted Reuters in January that Hamas would stop using Egypt as mediator for talks with Israel.
The Hamas organization is an offshoot of Egypt-based Muslim Brotherhood which was also listed as a terrorist organization in Egypt after Morsi was toppled in 2013. On Saturday a court in Cairo has 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, including the territories which are now under Israel, from 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.
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The organization began taking part in politics in 2004. In 2005 Hamas won 91 places of 118 in municipal elections. In 2006, Hamas won a majority in the Palestinian parliament.
Hamas is recognized as a terrorist organization by various countries, including Israel, the US, Canada and Japan.
Still last December, the EU General Court ordered Hamas be removed from the bloc’s terror blacklist. The court said that the decision to remove Hamas from the list was not based on an examination of Hamas’ 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.
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