Palestinian militants of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's armed wing, take part in a rally marking the 27th anniversary of the Islamist movement on December 14, 2014 in Gaza City. UPI/Ismael Mohamad |
License Photo
LUXEMBOURG, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- A European Union court Wednesday reversed the status of Hamas as a terrorist group, paving the way for Hamas' possible removal from an EU list of terrorist organizations.
The EU General Court in Luxembourg ruled the placement of Hamas -- a Palestinian group which controls Gaza and fought a 50-day war with Israel during the summer -- on the list was not sufficiently researched and based "on factual imputations derived from the press and Internet." Hamas has been on the list since 2001, and is regarded as a terrorist organization by the United States as well.
The court's decision, which was purely procedural and offered no advice or suggestion, came the same day the European Union voted 498-88 in Strasbourg, France, to support "in principle the recognition of Palestinian statehood" and additional peace negotiations. The EU has been frustrated by the stalled efforts to find Middle East peace, and Palestinian statehood is currently riding a groundswell of support.
"Removing Hamas from the terrorism blacklist is a victory for the Palestinian people," said Hamas spokesman Musa Abu Marzouk in an e-mail statement. "Hamas calls on all those who put us on this list to correct their stance, because doing so has always been unfair."
Reaction in Israel was predictably angry, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying in an e-mail statement, "We are not satisfied by the explanation offered by the Europeans that the removal of Hamas from the list of terrorist organizations is due to a procedural issue. The burden of proof is on the European Union and we expect them to immediately return Hamas to the list that everyone knows it belongs on."
The court decision did not remove the freeze on Hamas funds in the Middle East, and delayed implementation of the ruling for three months in expectation of an appeal from the EU.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Paul Hirschson said "It's important to note that this decision doesn't represent a change in EU policy on Hamas and was only based on a procedural issue, which we hope will be corrected and the ruling overturned during the next three months," Bloomberg News reported.
