EU court: Removing Hamas from terror list was mistake

The European Union’s Court of Justice ruled that Hamas is a terror group and should be put back on the EU terror list.  

The European Union’s (EU) top court ruled Wednesday that the Islamic Hamas terror group should stay on the EU terror list, saying a lower court should not have ordered the group removed from the EU’s terror list and sending the case back to the lower court for reconsideration.

The EU originally listed Hamas as a terror group in 2001, a move that froze assets of the organization in the EU. However the decision was annulled on procedural grounds by an EU court in 2014.

The EU appealed and Wednesday’s ruling by the European Court of Justice said that the 2014 annulment was wrong and must now be reconsidered taking into account arguments not ruled upon in the original decision. However, it added that Hamas funds will continue to be frozen pending the outcome of the reconsideration.

Neither Hamas nor Israel had an immediate reaction.

The European Jewish Congress welcomed the ruling.

The group’s president, Moshe Kantor, said it “sends a clear message that those who oppose peace in the Middle East by acts of murder and terror have no place within the European Union.”

By: AP