EU Court: Hamas Not Terrorist Group

A top court in the European Union ruled that Hamas be removed from a terrorist organization list on Wednesday. The judges said their decision was based “not on acts examined,” but “factual imputations derived from the press and the Internet.” In its charter, Hamas explicitly states it is committed to the destruction of Israel. The Islamic extremist group is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. and Israel among others, and it is known for actively encouraging violence. “It was just last month that you had the vicious, brutal attack at the Har Nof synagogue [in Jerusalem] that received wall-to-wall condemnation around the world,” an Israeli diplomatic official told The Jerusalem Post. “Hamas openly celebrated the atrocity and called for more such attacks. Hamas has proven that it remains a hard-core terrorist organization.” The court ruling came hours before the European Parliament is set to vote on Palestinian statehood and a Jordanian-backed draft for Palestinian statehood is expected to be submitted before the UN.