The Egyptian-brokered negotiations between Israel and Hamas come amid repeated efforts by the internationally recognized terror group to be removed from the European Union’s blacklist- created in the aftermath of 9/11 – to which Hamas was added in 2015.
These efforts have failed, however, the EU‘s General Court rejected an appeal by Hamas last week, which claimed it is ‘a lawful political movement.’ Hamas argued that its listing was based on facts that were never substantiated by evidence and that it was denied the right of defense. It further accused the EU of infringing upon Hamas’ right to property by freezing its funds.
The court was not impressed by the terror group’s arguments, blatantly rejecting all of its claims. A statement announcing the ruling read, “In today’s judgment, the General Court looks into each of the arguments made by Hamas and rejects them in their totality.” Therefore, “the decision to extend the freezing of Hamas funds is confirmed.” It is important to note that the General Court’s ruling can be appealed before the EU Court of Justice – a measure – according to a Hamas source – the Islamist group intends to pursue.