LONDON Ñ The European Union has refused to place Hamas on the
list of terrorist organizations.
The EU Permanent Representatives Committee decided to not place Hamas on
the EU terror list, diplomatic sources said. They said the EU committee
cited Hamas's agreement to a three-month truce in the insurgency war against
Israel.
The sources said the committee agreed to reconsider its decision. EU
foreign ministers plan to review the decision during their scheduled meeting
on Sept. 5, Middle East Newsline reported.
The EU has regarded Hamas as composed of two separate wings. The
Europeans placed the Hamas Izzedin Kassam military arm on the terrorist
list. But the EU refused to do the same with what it termed Hamas's
political wing.
The United States has placed the entire Hamas organization on the State
Department's list of terrorist groups. Washington has also frozen assets of
Hamas in the United States.
