Egypt Designates Hamas Armed Wing As Terror Group

hamas gunmen are training in Malaysia

The government of Egypt has designated the Al Qassam Brigades– the armed wing of the Gaza-ruling Palestinian terror group Hamas– as a terrorist organization.

The Cairo Court of Urgent Matters declared on Saturday that Al Qassam was also involved in building unauthorized tunnels from Gaza into Egypt. The court alleged that Al Qassam used its underground tunnels to “finance its terrorist operations, smuggle weapons to attack police and army personnel, as well as terrorizing civilians.”

The Daily News Egypt expects that the Egyptian government will also designate the entirety of Hamas as a “terrorist organization.”

The ruling comes just days after a major jihadist attack directed against the Egyptian military in the Sinai peninsula that claimed dozens of lives. The Egyptian government suspects that the Islamist terror group Hamas may have had a role to play in facilitating the attacks. Egypt has also blamed the Muslim Brotherhood, which Hamas is a member of, and its “supporting elements” for coordinating the attacks. The group formerly known as Ansar Bayt Al Maqdis (ABM), now known as the Sinai Province after swearing allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIS), has claimed responsibility for the coordinated assault throughout the Sinai. Before pledging to ISIS, ABM was known for its closeness to the Muslim Brotherhood. Many Egyptian activists had described ABM as a “military wing of the Muslim Brotherhood.”

Hamas responded to the ruling, calling it a “dangerous political decision that serves the interests of the occupier (Israel).”

Hamas has been listed as a terrorist organization in many countries, including the United States, Israel, Jordan, Japan, Australia, and Canada.

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