General Court of the EU rejects Hamas' appeal against its listing by the bloc as a terrorist organization.

A top EU court on Friday threw out an appeal by the Hamas terrorist organization against its listing by the bloc as a terrorist organization, AFP reports.

The General Court of the EU rejected a bid by Hamas to end a freeze on assets held in the bloc that was imposed in the wake of the 9/11 attacks in the United States.

The ruling by the Luxembourg-based court is the latest round in a protracted legal battle between the EU and Hamas, which has opposed the sanctions from the outset.

"By its judgment today... the General Court dismisses Hamas' appeal concerning the acts of the Council adopted between 2010 and 2014 and in 2017," the bloc's second-highest tribunal said.

In July of 2017, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) overturned an earlier ruling by the General Court that Hamas should be dropped from the terror list because the EU had made the decision based on information from the media and internet.

The ECJ, the bloc's highest court, ruled that the General Court had erred in law and should examine the case again.

In Friday's ruling, the General Court said the EU was entitled to list Hamas as a terrorist organization on the basis of a decision made by the British interior minister.

"The General Court observes, contrary to Hamas' submissions, that holding on to power following elections, the political nature of an organization or its participation in a government do not constitute grounds for avoiding the application of the rules," the court said, according to AFP.

(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)