Palestinian faction Hamas said Saturday that Egypt is no longer an impartial sponsor following an Egyptian court decision designating the movement as a "terrorist organization."
"With this politicized verdict, Egypt is serving the Israeli enemy and is no longer an impartial sponsor to any Palestinian issue," Hamas spokesman in the Gaza Strip Fawzi Barhoum told The Anadolu Agency.
Egypt has been playing a major role in the reconciliation process between rival groups Hamas and Fatah since the former took control of the Strip in the summer of 2007.
It has also mediated a cease-fire between Palestinian factions and Israel, under which a 51-day Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, which left at least 2,160 Palestinians dead, came to an end.
Earlier Saturday, an Egyptian court designated Hamas as a "terrorist" group over claims that the group had carried out attacks in Egypt through tunnels linking the Sinai Peninsula to the Gaza Strip.
Barhoum suggested that Saturday's court verdict was "in coordination" between Egypt and Israel with the aim of "targeting" the Palestinian resistance.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri slammed the desicion saying "labeling Hamas as a terrorist organization is a dangerous decision that represents a shift in Egyptian-Palestinian relations."
"Unfortunately, the situation has been turned upside down: Israel the enemy has become a friend of Egypt while Hamas – which is an integral part of the Palestinian people – has become a terrorist," Abu Zuhri said.
The spokesman, however, said that Hamas will not be affected by the Egyptian court verdict as it came to "export Egypt's domestic problems."
/149
