The U.S. state department announced a decision, in which it designated Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the Islamist Hamas organization, as a terrorist. The State Department stressed that ‘Haniyeh, along with two Islamist groups active in Egypt and one in the Palestinian territories, were listed as specially designated global terrorists.’ The Department also quoted U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson as saying that the designations “target key terrorist groups and leaders – including two sponsored and directed by Iran – who are threatening the stability of the Middle East, undermining the peace process, and attacking (Washington’s) allies Egypt and Israel.”
Hamas said in response to the American decision that it would affect its leader and the movement’s goal of continuing on the path of seeking Israel’s destruction and what the group’s spokesman termed “the liberation of (Palestinian) land and holy sites.” Hamas spokesperson Ismael Radwan further asserted that Washington’s decision has placed it on the list of Palestine’s enemies, at a time when the United States clearly has chosen Israel’s side, and is pursuing a policy against the Palestinian people.