Blacklisted Hamas official: America shows ‘total bias’ for Israel

A senior Hamas official designated by Washington as a “global terrorist” accused the United States on Saturday of “total bias” in favor of Israel.

The US on Friday added Hamas politburo member Fathi Hammad to its terror blacklist, meaning that US citizens and companies will be banned from doing business with him and any property he holds in areas under US jurisdiction will be frozen.

According to the US State Department, which issued the designation, during his time as Hamas interior minister in Gaza Hammad used his position to “coordinate terrorist cells.”

Washington already defines the Hamas organisation, which rules the Gaza Strip, as a “foreign terrorist organisation.”

Hammad said in a statement that the latest US move, coming as Washington signed a new 10-year deal giving unprecedented military aid to the Jewish state, “represents an additional dark page... of the US administration.”

He said it showed “total bias toward the killing machine and Zionist terrorism.”

The State Department said that Hammad had founded Al-Aqsa TV, “with programs designed to recruit children to become Hamas armed fighters and suicide bombers upon reaching adulthood.”