Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper greets the Jewish community
Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper greets the Jewish community as he arrives to participate in a candle lighting ceremony to mark the start of Hanukkah in Montreal, Quebec, December 16, 2014. Reuters/Stringer

Canada has urged the European Union to keep Hamas declared as a banned terrorist group after a EU court ordered its removal from the blacklist. Canada's foreign minister, John Baird, in a statement said, "we are deeply concerned by the decision of the EU General Court to annul, on procedural grounds, the measures against Hamas."

The foreign minister called on the EU to take immediate remedial steps to keep Hamas listed as a terrorist entity, reported Times of Israel, which also noted that Canada still keeps its ban on Hamas as a terrorist group. Meanwhile, the EU stand was made clear by the bloc's top envoy to Israel, who declared that the EU still considers Hamas as a terrorist organisation and the EU court's decision to remove the group from the blacklist will not have any practical implications on the ground. Ambassador Lars Faaborg-Andersen said he understood the concerms of Israeli officials about the court ruling since Hamas has started "deliberately mischaracterising" it, but added that he will be able to alleviate the worries.

Procedural Decision

The EU envoy explained that "It's a technical, procedural decision and doesn't change the political position of the EU vis-à-vis Hamas, which is that it is a terror organisation," in an interview with The Times of Israel. The envoy said the EU will continue to adhere to the Quartet principles in terms of refraining from interacting with Hamas as long as the group does not renounce violence and recognise Israel's right to exist.

On Wednesday, the General Court of the EU in Luxembourg annulled, "on procedural grounds," the EU's 2001 listing of Hamas as a terrorist organisation, inviting the wrath of Israeli officials. The judgement sparked much surprise. The judges felt the classification of Hamas as a terror group was based on "factual imputations derived from the press and the internet" rather than actual examination of Hamas's activities. But the court upheld the current EU ban on funding Hamas, subject to the verdict on an appeal against the ruling, reported Express UK.

Netanyahu Angry

In a strong reaction, expressing Israel's concerns, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, "We are not satisfied with the European Union's explanation that the removal of Hamas from the terrorist list is a technical matter." The burden of proof is on the European Union and Israel expects the EU to put Hamas back on the list forthwith, given its activities as a murderous terrorist organisation, with destruction of Israel as its main goal, the PM noted.