Egyptian court invalidates anti-Hamas verdict

An Egyptian court on Saturday invalidated an earlier ruling that had designated the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement a terrorist organisation, media report says.

The Cairo Appeals Court granted an appeal filed by the Egyptian government against the verdict that was issued in February by a lower court, according to the report.

Hamas rules the Palestinian Gaza Strip that borders Egypt’s volatile Sinai Peninsula.

Egyptian media have repeatedly accused Hamas, an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, of involvement in attacks in Egypt, including in Sinai, in recent months. Hamas officials have denied the accusations.

Ties between Egypt and Hamas have deteriorated since 2013 when Egyptian army overthrew President Mohammed Morsi, a senior Brotherhood leader.

Egypt has already outlawed and listed the Brotherhood as a terrorist group.