Hamas 'Mistakes' Behind Egypt Terror Label: Pa Top Judge

Palestinian Chief Justice Mahmoud al-Habash has said that Hamas movement's "mistakes" were behind a recent court verdict in Egypt designating the group as a "terrorist organization."



"Hamas has committed many mistakes in dealing with Egypt," al-Habash, who also serves as Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas' adviser on religious affairs, told The Anadolu Agency.



"These mistakes are what led to the tension between Hamas on one hand and Egypt's government and people on the other."



Hamas, which remains in de facto control of the Gaza Strip since 2007, has denounced an Egyptian court decision on Saturday designating the movement as a "terrorist organization."



The group said that the verdict was "politicized" and that it serves Israel's interests in targeting the Palestinian resistance.



The Egyptian court labeled Hamas as a "terrorist" organization over claims that the group had carried out armed attacks in Egypt through tunnels linking the Sinai Peninsula to the Gaza Strip.



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.



In January, 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.



www.aa.com.tr/en - Kahire