PALESTINIAN FACTIONS DENOUNCE EGYPTIAN BLACKLISTING OF AL-QASSAM BRIGADES

Gaza, 12 Rabi’ul Akhir 1436/2 Februari 2015 (MINA) – Major Palestinian factions denounced on Sunday a decision by an Egyptian court to classify Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas movement in Gaza, as a terrorist organisation.

In a statement co-signed by Hamas, Fatah, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front, the Democratic Front, the People’s Party, Al-Ahrar Movement and the Popular Resistance Committee, all factions condemned the decision to blacklist Al-Qassam.

“Al-Qassam is body that has been involved in a battle of liberation with the Israeli occupation on Palestine,” the statement read, Middle East Monitor (MEMO) quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

The factions said they hope that Egypt and Egyptians will “take part in the liberation of Palestine based on their strong relations with the Palestinians.”

The statement stressed that the Al-Qassam Brigades only targets the Israeli occupation, and does not engage in indiscriminate military action.

Responding to the court decision, the factions pledged that they would intensify communication with Egypt in order to mitigate the repercussions of such a decision. They also appealed to Egyptian mass media to stop its campaigns that “seek to damage Palestinian-Egyptian relations.”

On Sunday, the Egyptian Court for in Cairo ruled that the Al-Qassam Brigades should be classified as a terrorist organisation. The ruling was based on accusations that Al-Qassam was involved in several terrorist attacks in Egypt.

Egyptian officials and the Egyptian media have a history of using Hamas as a scapegoat for instability and terrorism in Egypt, often without any proof.(T/R05/R03)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)