US Favors EU Court's Decision to Reiterate Hamas as a Terror Group - State Dept.

The United States welcomes the EU Court's of Justice decision to reiterate the Palestinian group Hamas’ status as a terrorist organization, the US Department of State said in a statement on Thursday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The United States welcomes the decision by the European Union’s top court to reiterate the Palestinian group Hamas’ status as a terrorist organization, the US Department of State said in a statement on Thursday.

"The United States welcomes the July 26 decision by the European Court of Justice to retain the European Union’s proscription of Hamas as a terrorist organization," the statement said.

On Wednesday, the European Court of Justice announced it was reversing a lower court’s decision to remove Hamas from the list of European terror organizations, and referred the case back to the General Court.

The State Department said Hamas’ election earlier this year of Yehya Sinwar as the group’s political leader in Gaza illustrated that it remained a terrorist threat. Sinwar has been under US sanctions since 2015.

In June, US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley called on the UN Security Council to designate Hamas a terrorist organization, claiming the move would aid in finding a settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.