Cairo refuses to renew residence permit for Hamas leader

Egyptian authorities have refused to renew prominent Hamas leader Mousa Abu Marzook’s residency permit, a Hamas spokesman said.

It is now believed that Abu-Marzook may be deported when his permit expires next month.

Speaking to the Jordanian newspaper Al-Sabeel, Hosam Badran called on the Egyptian authorities to review their decisions relating to the Palestinians and asked for their support.

In 2011, several months after the outbreak of the Syrian revolution, Abu-Marzook left Damascus and moved to Cairo. Other Hamas leaders moved from Syria to the Gaza Strip or Doha, Qatar.

Early this month an Egyptian court ruled that Hamas is a terrorist organisation, froze its assets and confiscated its properties.