Hamas, the ruling political party of the Gaza Strip, hailed the advice of the advocate-general at the European Court of Justice, Eleanor Sharpston, which stated that the party be removed from the European Union’s (EU) blacklist, the Felesteen newspaper reported.

Speaking yesterday, Hamas spokesman, Sami Abu Zuhri, said: “We hail the advice of the advocate of the EU Court of Justice and call for the EU to commit to it.”

Abu Zuhri added that Hamas’ removal from the EU’s blacklist would contribute to the EU purifying itself from the sin of taking the side of the Israeli occupation against the Palestinians.

Senior European Court of Justice adviser tells judges to continue ensuring Hamas stays off the EU's terror blacklist https://t.co/BoUwkp1gwU

— Dr. Rizwaan Sabir (@RizwaanSabir) September 24, 2016

Sharpston said on Thursday that the EU “cannot rely on facts and evidence found in press articles and information from the Internet, rather than on decisions of competent authorities, to support a decision to maintain a listing about Hamas.”

The EU adopted regulations to combat terrorism in the wake of the September 11 terror in the US. Under the regulations, the EU imposed travel bans and asset freezes against Hamas and many other groups across the globe.

At the end of 2014, AP reported that the General Court of the European Union ruled that Hamas should be removed from list of terrorist organisations, saying the decision to include it was based on media reports not considered analysis.

Speaking yesterday, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said: “We hail the advice of the advocate of the EU Court of… https://t.co/lgA8OlcSII

— antonio maniscalco (@antoniomanisca4) September 24, 2016

In March 2015, AFP reported that the EU kept Hamas on its blacklist despite the court order to remove Hamas from the terrorist list.

(MEMO, PC)