By. M. Bilal Kenasari
WASHINGTON
The US on Wednesday urged the European Union not to change its stance against Hamas, after a top EU court removed the group from an influential list of terrorist organizations.
"Hamas continues to engage in terrorist activity and has demonstrated its intentions during this summer's conflicts with Israel,” said State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki during press briefing. “It fired thousands of rockets into Israeli civilian areas and attempted to infiltrate Israel through tunnels that extended into Israel."
The decision to place Hamas on the terror list was “based not on acts examined and confirmed in decisions of competent authorities, but on factual imputations derived from the press and the Internet,' the General Court said in a press release.
Despite the ruling, however, the EU has not removed the group from the terror list.
"The EU continues to consider Hamas a terrorist organization," European Commission spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said. The General Court's decision to remove Hamas from the terrorist list “is a legal ruling, and not a political decision taken by EU governments,” she said.
Responding to the ruling, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the decision.
"The friendship we see from the United States stands in complete contrast to what we are seeing regretfully in Europe," read a statement issued by Netanyahu's office.
Turkey welcomes EU court decision on Hamas
Turkey has welcomed the decision of a European Union court to remove Hamas from its terrorist list.
“From our point of view, this is a positive development,” Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Tanju Bilgic said at a weekly briefing Thursday.
“Turkey’s position on the Palestinian issue is obvious,” Bilgic said.
The EU’s General Court ruled Wednesday that the decision to list Hamas on the 2001 terrorist list was not based on "acts examined and confirmed in decisions of competent authorities, but on factual imputations derived from the press and the Internet."
www.aa.com.tr/en
