Terrorist' Hamas Verdict Egypt 'İnternal Affair': Jordan Minister

A Jordanian minister has described an Egyptian court verdict labeling Palestinian faction Hamas as a "terrorist" group as an "internal affair".



"This is an [Egyptian] internal matter," Minister of Political and Parliamentary Affairs Khalid al-Kalaldeh told The Anadolu Agency on Sunday.



"We don't meddle with affairs of other countries the same way we don't like anyone to interfere in ours," he added.



A Cairo court on Saturday designated Hamas as a "terrorist" organization over claims that the group had carried out terrorist attacks in Egypt through tunnels linking the Sinai Peninsula to the Gaza Strip.



In March 2014, the same 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.



Late in January, another Egyptian court declared the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, a terrorist organization.



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.



The Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan, for its part, said that the Egyptian court verdict against Hamas "serves the Zionist project."



www.aa.com.tr/en - Amman