UN: We do not consider Hamas terrorist movement, but political organization

NEW YORK, Feb. 17 (YPA) – The United Nations said on Saturday that it does not consider Hamas a “terrorist” organization because it is a “political movement.”

United Nations Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths explained, in an interview with the English channel “Sky News,”  in response to questions about the feasibility of the Israeli occupation’s declared goals to eliminate Hamas, by saying: “This is a difficult matter, and I have dealt with terrorists and rebel groups a lot, and as you know, Hamas for us is not a terrorist organization, but a political movement.”

Griffiths continued: “It is very difficult to expel groups without reaching a negotiated solution that includes their aspirations, and I cannot think of an improvised example in which a military victory against a deep-rooted group, whether terrorist or otherwise, succeeded.”

He added, “I fully understand the shock caused by the Hamas attack on Israel, but the latter needs to build a relationship with its neighbors regardless of what happened.”

In the same interview, Griffiths also expressed his concern about the possibility of the Israeli occupation launching an attack on the city of Rafah, which includes hundreds of thousands of displaced people from other places in the Gaza Strip.

It is noteworthy that after the Al-Aqsa Flood operation on October 7, Western countries took measures against the Hamas movement, including classifying it as a “terrorist organization” and targeting anyone who sympathizes with it.

Other countries, such as Russia, adopt a different position on Hamas, as they deal with it as a political movement that represents part of the Palestinian people.

YPA