Hamas-affiliated Palestinian legislator Fathi Hammad slams US ‘total bias’ toward Israel after 'terrorist' labeling

Hamas-affiliated Palestinian legislator Fathi Hammad speaks during a press conference at his home in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, on September 17, 2016. (photo by AFP)

A senior member of Palestinian Islamic resistance movement Hamas has described Washington’s favoritism towards the Israeli regime as “total bias” after the US blacklists him as a “global terrorist.”

The legislative council member and former interior minister of Gaza-based Hamas, Fathi Hammad, said in a Saturday statement that the sudden designation against him by the US State Department “represents an additional dark page… of the US administration,” further insisting that the move reflects “total bias toward the killing machine and Zionist terrorism,” referring to the Israeli regime.

Washington issued an official statement on Friday, labeling Hammad as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT),” citing his background as interior minister in the besieged Gaza Strip in 2009 and founder of Palestinian al-Aqsa TV network.

“As a senior Hamas official, Hammad has engaged in terrorist activity for Hamas,” said the USSD statement, adding that as interior minister “he was responsible for security within Gaza.” It further argued that “Hammad established al-Aqsa TV, which is a primary Hamas media outlet.”

The argument suggests that Washington even regards defensive and security measures to protect Palestinian residents in the impoverished Gaza Strip as acts of terrorism against its Israeli ally and thus the US.

The US designation against the Hamas legislator -- widely covered and welcomed by Israeli media outlets -- came shortly after Washington signed a new 10-year military pact with the Tel Aviv, granting the regime unprecedented access to US weaponry and other forms of military aid.

The State Department statement further claimed, “Today’s action notifies the US public and the international community that Hammad is actively engaged in terrorism… and result[s] in denial of access to the US financial system.”

It did not, however, cite any specific or developing reason for the move against the Palestinian figure who is highly unlikely to possess any form of financial interest within the US.

Washington ordinarily issues such accusatory statements against Palestinian figures as a publicity tool to invoke its continuing loyalty towards the Israeli regime during election season in a bid to induce political and financial support of influential and wealthy pro-Israel organizations and financiers within the United States.

Many Islamic movements and Muslim organizations critical of the Israeli regime and its oppressive measures in occupied Palestinian territories – such as Hamas and Lebanon-based Hezbollah – have already been blacklisted by Washington as "foreign terrorist organizations."