Listen A number of Egyptian Islamist entities strongly condemned a court verdict designating Hamas as a terrorist group, describing the decision as a tough blow to "Palestinian resistance against Israel". Al-Jamaa Al-Islamiya said that the court that issued the verdict is not specialised, adding that "liberation movements which resist foreign occupiers should never be described as terror groups". The case was complicated and needed time and effort to go through the documents and to examine the testimonies of different eyewitnesses, the ultra conservative group said, asserting that the Urgent Matters Court was "quick to issue the verdict". The verdict will also jeopardise the efforts made by the Egyptian side to guarantee a strong position in the peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians, the group added. "There can be no solution to the Palestinian problem without the support of the popular group of Hamas," Al-Jamaa Al-Islamiya said. Hamas has been designated as a terrorist group by both Israel and the US, having been accused of harbouring militants and plotting attacks against civilians in Israel. While asserting that the court decision will serve the interests of Israel, the group demanded that the government separate between its political inclinations and the Palestinian case. The group itself had a lawsuit filed against it this month that argued it was a terrorist group who had militant background from the 1990s. However, the court ruled its "lack of jurisdiction" to decide on the case. Al-Jamaa Al-Islamiya was part of the heavy confrontation between the state and the Islamic militant group in the late 1990s, which resulted in hundreds of deaths from civilians, militants, and security personnel. Later, the group declared that it will abandon militancy and focus on preaching and charity. Tarek Al-Zomor, head of the Building and Development Party, the political arm of the group, said the verdict should be understood "in the context of the current regime polices to waste all of Egypt's efforts [in the peace talks]". Similarly, the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood condemned the verdict, describing it as" null and disgraceful", adding it "will not be recognised by the Egyptian and Arab peoples". The verdict is "evidence of the traitorous junta's crimes... [and its] anti-Palestinian stance."
The Brotherhood, which has suffered a heavy crackdown after the military lead ouster of Former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi, added that "the Urgent Matters Court judges will forever carry the shame of their absurd decision". The Freedom and Justice Party, the political arm of the group, was banned in 2014, with the financial assets of many party members frozen. Also, Al-Wasat Party said that it has witnessed "in the recent period "a systematic targeting of the resistance against the Israeli occupation, especially by some state institutions and media outlets". "The Egyptian people will never forget the hundreds of martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the Palestinian cause," the party said, renewing its support for the Palestinian resistance. Al-Wasat promotes itself as a moderate Islamist Party, and has withdrawn from the pro-Morsi Anti-Coup Alliance (ACA). Also, Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh, head of Misr Al-Qawia Party, said on his official account that the Palestinian resistance movements, especially Hamas, are one of the main liberation movements against "the Zionist enemy". A number of Islamist parties have come under heavy crackdown from the current government. President Al-Sisi issued a decree last week approving the "Terrorist Entities Law", to define what qualifies as a terrorist entity.
