Egypt: Tarek Al-Zumar on Terror List for 3rd Time

Tarek al-Zumar, former head of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Building and Development Party. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Tarek al-Zumar, former head of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Building and Development Party. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Egypt: Tarek Al-Zumar on Terror List for 3rd Time

Tarek al-Zumar, former head of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Building and Development Party. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Tarek al-Zumar, former head of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Building and Development Party. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Court of Cassation, the highest judicial body in Egypt, upheld on Thursday a court ruling that enlists the former head of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Building and Development Party, fugitive Tarek al-Zumar, and 318 other defendants of the Sinai insurgency case, on the list of terrorist entities.

Zumar is accused of playing a pivotal role in the ISIS-affiliated “Wilayat Sinai”, providing financial support to the group from outside Egypt.

On Thursday, the Court rejected the defendants' appeal to a Cairo Criminal Court ruling, which enlisted the 319 defendants on the terror list.

“The Court of Cassation ruling is final and cannot be appealed,” judicial sources said.

The “Wilayat Sinai” case, which involves 555 suspected terrorists, is linked to attacks carried out by the terrorist organization in North Sinai.

In is the third time Egypt places the name of Zumar on its terrorist list.

The Cairo Criminal Court sentenced Zumar to death last September in the case known in the media as "Rabaa sit-in dispersal."

In March, an Egyptian court placed Zumar and 319 people on a terrorist list for their links to the "Second Wilayat Sinai."

Last November, the Cairo Criminal Court again placed his name among 164 names on Egypt's terror list, including Mohammed Shawki al-Islambouli, another fugitive in Turkey, Assem Abdelmajid, who is in Qatar, and others.

Zumar is included in a list of 59 terrorists announced by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in June after the four countries cut relations with Qatar over its support for terrorism.

He is being tried in absentia in Egypt.

Zumar was imprisoned in 1984, along with his cousin Abboud al-Zumar, over accusations of assassinating former Egyptian president Mohamed Anwar al-Sadat.



US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
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US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)

The United States is deferring the removal of certain Lebanese citizens from the country, President Joe Biden said on Friday, citing humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon amid tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

The deferred designation, which lasts 18 months, allows Lebanese citizens to remain in the country with the right to work, according to a memorandum Biden sent to the Department of Homeland Security.

"Humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon have significantly deteriorated due to tensions between Hezbollah and Israel," Biden said in the memo.

"While I remain focused on de-escalating the situation and improving humanitarian conditions, many civilians remain in danger; therefore, I am directing the deferral of removal of certain Lebanese nationals who are present in the United States."

Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have been trading fire since Hezbollah announced a "support front" with Palestinians shortly after its ally Hamas attacked southern Israeli border communities on Oct. 7, triggering Israel's military assault in Gaza.

The fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 100 civilians and more than 300 Hezbollah fighters, according to a Reuters tally, and led to levels of destruction in Lebanese border towns and villages not seen since the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war.

On the Israeli side, 10 Israeli civilians, a foreign agricultural worker and 20 Israeli soldiers have been killed. Tens of thousands have been evacuated from both sides of the border.