Cairo // An Egyptian court on Saturday banned the armed wing of Hamas, the Ezzedine Al Qassam Brigades, declaring it a “terrorist” group, a judiciary official said.
Since Egypt’s military ousted the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Morsi from the presidency in 2013, the authorities have accused Hamas of aiding extremists in the Sinai Peninsula.
Saturday’s court verdict followed a complaint from a lawyer accusing the Hamas armed wing of direct involvement in “terrorist operations” in the Sinai.
In January, Egypt began work on doubling the width of a buffer zone along the border with Gaza to prevent militants infiltrating from the enclave.
President Abdel Fattah El Sisi warned on Saturday that the country faces a long battle against militancy.
“This battle will be difficult, strong, evil and will take a long time,” said Mr El Sisi, as military commanders announced plans to forge a unified command for all armed forces in Sinai.
“We will not leave Sinai for the terrorists.”
* Agence France-Presse, Associated Press, Reuters
