Hamas slams UAE foreign minister over terrorism label

Palestinian resistance group Hamas has rejected statements by United Arab Emirates (UAE) Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed linking the group to terrorism.

"Bin Zayed's call for the western countries to designate Hamas as a terrorist group runs counter to Arab values," Hamas spokesman Hazem Qasim said on Twitter.

These statements, the spokesman said, fall in line with "the failed Zionist propaganda and contradict the Arab public support to the resistance in Palestine."

Last week, bin Zayed criticized the failure to designate Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organizations.

"It is unfortunate that some countries do not act more clearly in classifying some organizations, such as Hamas, Hezbollah or the Muslim Brotherhood," he said during a speech to the American Jewish Committee.

"It is ridiculous that some governments only call the military branch of an organization terrorist and go beyond its political branch, while there is no difference between them," bin Zayed added.

In September 2020, the UAE and Israel signed a US-sponsored deal to normalize their relations.