Egypt's ruling on al-Qassam, a coup

Palestinian groups has ruled out an Egyptian court's ruling branding the Hamas military branch, the al-Qassam Brigades as a terror organization, saying the verdict actually serves Israe, Qods News Agency reports

Member of Hamas's political bureau Mousa Abu Marzouk said in a Facebook message on Saturday that the verdict was a coup against Egypt's history, ethics and principles.

Abu Marzouk said history confirms that the al-Qassam Brigades dealt with the Egyptian intelligence in a respectful and civilized manner in solving critical issues. “So how can it be possible today that it has become terrorist?” the Hamas personality enquired.

The Palestinian figure noted that it was a first time in the Arab and Muslim world that the Palestinian resistance is branded as terrorist.

Similar condemnations came from his colleague, Salah al-Bardawil who said the verdict was a dangerous precedent and a politically-motivated decision.

"The decision was political par excellence and had nothing to do with the justice system and judicial proceedings," Bardawil told the Palestinian information center.

The Palestinian personality considered the verdict as an emotional reaction to the events that had taken place in the Sinai, stressing that Hamas and its armed wing had nothing to do with what had happened.

Also, the Islamic Jihad Movement and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) deplored the Egyptian ruling.

Islamic Jihad reminded the Egyptian authorities that they would rather serve Israel by involving the al-Qassam Brigades or any other Palestinian resistance faction in Egypt's internal affairs.

And, the PFLP official Zulfikar Suweirjo said in Facebook that the verdict would allow Israel to evade the International Criminal Court over their genocidal war on Gaza in summer by making the excuse that the aggression was a ‘war on terrorism’.