Hamas Leader: EU Blacklist a Big Mistake

[Nottingham]

Hamas Leader: EU Blacklist a Big Mistake
ALBERT AJI
Associated Press

DAMASCUS, Syria - The European Union committed a "big mistake" by blacklisting Hamas as a terrorist organization, but the move won't affect the group's resistance operations, a senior leader of the Palestinian militant group said Sunday.
Hamas leader in Syria Khaled Mashaal said as the group's resources came from Arabs and Muslims, the EU ban would not affect Hamas' struggle against Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories.

"Europe has made a big mistake by taking this decision," Mashaal told The Associated Press. It was "an aggression against the Palestinian people, rather than Hamas. It is a kind of compliance with Israel and submission to American Pressures."
The European Union has added the entire Hamas organization to its terrorist list, but stopped short of a U.S.-like crackdown on related charities that allegedly funnel money to the group. The list had included only Hamas' military wing.

Meanwhile, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa held talks Sunday on the worsening Middle East crisis, but neither side wanted to take credit for making such a rare, high-level telephone call.


The Syrians say it was Arafat who made what was the first such call in years to a top Syrian official, but the Palestinians reckon it was the other way around.
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More fuel to the fire! Syria knows its in the Hot Seat!