Hamas fires back after US puts leader on terror list

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Hamas has slammed a decision by the US State Department to add its politburo boss to a terrorist list.

Ismail Haniyeh, leader and chief of the political bureau of Hamas, "has reportedly been involved in terrorist attacks against Israeli citizens," the department said.

The movement's leaders said they considered the US decision as "ridiculous."

It was a failed attempt to keep pressure on the Palestinian armed resistance, Hamas spokesman in Gaza Hazem Qassem said in an emailed statement.

"This will never break our determination to carry on with resistance and stick to it until getting rid of the Israeli occupation," said Qassem.

December 6, 2017: Head of the Political Bureau of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh (5th R) attends a protest against US President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital in Gaza City. /VCG Photo

Hamas was itself designated in 1997 as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and in 2001 as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) SDGT by the United States.

In its latest statement, the State Department said that Hamas has been responsible for an estimated 17 Americans killed in terrorist attacks.

The Trump administration has increased its rhetoric against the Palestinian side to pressure it back to negotiating table with Israel, freezing aid to Palestinian refugees.

January 20, Mount of Olives: Tourists in front of Jerusalem's Old City and the Dome of the Rock. /VCG Photo

In December, President Donald Trump announced the US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital city of Israel and announced to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to the city, sparking global outrage and condemnation.

In response, Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) executive committee, said that such statements "humiliated Muslims, Christians and Jews all over the world."

"Those who believe that the Jerusalem issue was removed from the negotiations table, should know that peace was also removed from the table," said Erekat, adding that "his remarks clearly show that he can never be a relevant sponsor to peace."

The PLO announced on Jan. 24 its opposition to any US peace initiatives unless the US administration retracts its recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

"The Americans can no longer serve as an honest broker in the negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel after its illegal declaration of Jerusalem," Saeb Erekat said in a press interview.

In April 2014, nine months of direct peace talks between Israel and Palestinians sponsored by the United States ended without any breakthrough due to deep differences on Israeli settlements and the recognition of a Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency