Egyptian court lists Hamas as terrorist organisation

Cairo: An Egyptian court listed the Palestinian group Hamas as a terrorist organisation, judicial and security sources said on Saturday, one month after a judge listed the group`s armed wing as a terrorist group.

Hamas is an offshoot of Egypt`s Muslim Brotherhood which the authorities have also declared a terrorist group and have repressed systematically since the army ousted one of its leaders, Mohamed Mursi, from the presidency in 2013.

"The court ruled that Hamas should be included as a terrorist organisation," Samir Sabry, one of the lawyers who brought the case against Hamas, told Reuters.

While the January decision against Hamas targeted only the armed wing, Saturday`s broader ruling could have greater consequences for the already strained relations between Cairo and Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip along Egypt`s border.

A source close to Hamas` armed wing signalled the group would no longer accept Egypt as a broker between it and Israel after the January decision against Hamas` Qassam Brigades armed wing.

Cairo has for many years played a central role in engineering ceasefires between Israel and Hamas, which dominates the Gaza Strip, including a truce reached between the sides in August that ended a 50-day Gaza war.