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GAZA, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- Fathi Hammad, one of the Islamic Hamas movement top leaders in the Gaza Strip, condemned Saturday the decision of the U.S. State Department to include him into the list of world terrorists.
"As Israel escalates its assaults on our people in the West Bank and Jerusalem, the American administration, which backs the Israeli occupation, puts me on the so-called world terrorists list," Hammad said in an emailed press statement.
"The American administration is the biggest supporter to the Zionist terrorism," said Hammad, adding "this decision biased to the occupation is an additional black page in the book of the American administration with bad reputation."
He insisted that such decisions "would never terrify us and never break our determination to serve our people and defend their just rights whatever the price is."
Meanwhile, Sami Abu Zuhri, Hamas spokesman in Gaza, said in an emailed press statement that the American decision "is a crucial and dangerous development that shows the Obama Administration is biased to the Israeli occupation."
"The U.S. State Department decision provides a cover to the endless Israeli crimes against our people," said Abu Zuhri, who called on the U.S. "to regret the decision and stop decisions that are provocative to the emotions of peoples."
Hammad is considered as one of the most prominent leaders of Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip, as the movement has been ruling since it had violently seized control of the territory in 2007.
According to media reports, the U.S. State Department considered Hammad as one of the top world terrorists, who threaten the security of the American citizens and the national security, economy and foreign affairs of the United States.
Besides being a top Hamas leader, Hammad is a militant and was the interior minister of Hamas government that ruled the Gaza Strip before the formation of the Palestinian consensus government in June 2014.
Hammad was also the founder of Hamas Satellite Channel called "Al-Aqsa Television." The channel educates and recruits teenagers to become militants and suicide bombers when they grow up, according to media reports.
