CAIRO (AP) — An Egyptian court declared Hamas a "terrorist organization" on Saturday, further isolating the blockaded rulers of the Gaza Strip once openly welcomed by the country's toppled Islamist-dominated government.

The ruling is unlikely to have any immediate effect on Hamas, still reeling from last summer's war with Israel and choked by an Israeli-Egyptian blockade set up in 2007. Moussa Abu Marzouk, Hamas' No. 2 leader, is based in Cairo and is receiving medical treatment there, members of the group say.

The move underlines Egypt's increasing hostility to Hamas, which the court blamed for violence in the country's restive Sinai Peninsula. The secretive movement, founded in Gaza in 1987 as an offshoot of the region's Egyptian-originated Muslim Brotherhood, faces a growing cash crunch and has yet to lay out a strategy to extract Gaza from its increasingly dire situation.

"There is no doubt that Hamas is being pushed into the corner further and further," said Mkhaimar Abu Sada, a political science professor at Gaza's Al Azhar University. Hamas' relationship with Cairo has "reached a point of no return" and is unlikely to be salvaged, he said.

The ruling Saturday by Judge Mohamed el-Sayed of the Court For Urgent Matters said Hamas had targeted both civilians and security forces inside the Sinai Peninsula, and that the group aimed to harm the country. Sinai has been under increasing attack by extremists since the Egyptian military ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in 2013.

"It has been proven without any doubt that the movement has committed acts of sabotage, assassinations and the killing of innocent civilians and members of the armed forces and police in Egypt," the court wrote, according to state news agency MENA.

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FILE -- In this July 26, 2012 file photo, released by Hamas, then Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, …

The ruling said that Hamas' fighters had used heavy weapons against the army, and that the group was colluding with the Muslim Brotherhood, which Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has described as the root of extremism. Morsi belonged to the Brotherhood.

"It has been also ascertained with documents that (Hamas) has carried out bombings that have taken lives and destroyed institutions and targeted civilians and the armed forces personnel," the ruling said. "This movement works for the interests of the terrorist Brotherhood organization."

On its official website, Hamas called the decision a "shocking and dangerous" one that targeted the Palestinian people.

"This decision is a great shame and sullies the reputation of Egypt. It is a desperate attempt to export the internal Egyptian crisis and will have no effect on the position of Hamas which enjoys the respect of all the people and leaders of the nation," the statement read.

In Gaza, Hamas official Mushir al-Masri condemned the decision and urged Egypt to reverse course.

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FILE - In this Dec. 4, 2014 file photo, members of the Palestinian Hamas security forces participate …

"This ruling serves the Israeli occupation. It's a politicized decision that constitutes the beginning of Egypt evading its role toward the Palestinian cause," he said. "This is a coup against history and an Egyptian abuse of the Palestinian cause and resistance, which fights on behalf of the Arab nation. We call on Egypt to reconsider this dangerous decision."

An Egyptian court banned Hamas' military wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, and designated it a terrorist organization just last month. In 2014, a similar ruling in the same court banned all Hamas activities in Egypt and ordered the closure of any Hamas offices, though the order apparently was never carried out. Government officials in Egypt did not respond to requests for comment on Saturday's ruling.

Hamas seized the Gaza Strip by force in 2007. Since then, it has fought three wars with Israel, the latest last summer killing some 2,200 Palestinians and 72 on the Israeli side, according to the United Nations.

Since a major attack on security forces last October, the Egyptian army has been clearing a buffer zone on the frontier with Gaza in an attempt to destroy a cross-border network of tunnels.

Hamas considers the tunnels an economic lifeline, at one point earning an estimated $500 million from taxing Egyptian imports. Cheap fuel, cement and other supplies from Egypt also powered Gaza's economy, particularly the local construction industry which employed several tens of thousands.

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FILE - In this Dec. 14, 2014 file photo, masked Palestinian Hamas gunmen display their military skil …

That dried up after Morsi's 2013 ouster. Egypt's new government now sees the tunnels as a two-way smuggling route for guns and fighters.

Earlier this month, Egyptian security officials said they had found and shut down the largest-ever tunnel leading into Gaza, a 2.5-kilometer (1.5-mile) passageway they said was used to smuggle weapons used in attacks on security forces.

The crackdown has been accompanied by Egypt's closure of the Rafah border crossing — the main gateway for Gazans to the outside world. That's left Gaza's population of 1.8 million people largely unable to travel abroad.

Hamas officials have said they believe Egypt is trying to crush their organization, but have refused to be quoted by name for fear that criticism of the el-Sissi government would invite further sanctions.

Mohammed Hijazi, a Gaza-based analyst, said the court ruling can be appealed. However, he cautioned that both sides needed each other.

"At the end of the day, Egypt needs to deal with Hamas because Hamas is a main player in the Palestinian arena and one day Egypt will find itself in a position to talk to Hamas if it wants to play a role in the Palestinian issue," he said.

___

Akram reported from Gaza City, Gaza Strip. Associated Press writers Karin Laub in Jericho, West Bank, Mohammed Daraghmeh in Ramallah, West Bank, and Maamoun Youssef in Cairo contributed to this report.

Military judge halts 9/11 trial citing Defense Dept. overreach

(RT) A military judge has put the oft-delayed 9/11 trial on hold until the Department of Defense walks back an order requiring the judges presiding over the case to move to Guantanamo Bay in order to proceed with the trial.

The Defense Department’s interference stems from a controversial order issued in January requiring the judges in three active terror trials to relocate to the US base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. It would also strip military judges of other duties, including presiding over US service members’ court martials.

The judge, Army Col. James Pohl, said in a 10-page ruling on Wednesday that the relocation order created “at least the appearance of an unlawful attempt to press the military judge to accelerate the pace of litigation and an improper attempt to usurp judicial discretion.”

“The only role of the Department of Defense in regard to Commission judges is to designate the Chief Trial Judge from a pool of Military Judges nominated by The Judge Advocate General,” wrote Judge Pohl in his ruling. “Once a case is referred for trial, the Chief Trial Judge details the presiding Military Judge.”

“It has long been a tenet of American law that an independent trial judiciary is essential to any system of justice. It is elementary that a fair trial is a fair tribunal is a basic requirement of due process.”

Carol Rosenberg ✔ @carolrosenberg Follow Updated: Judge freezes 9/11 trial, rules #Guantanamo move-in order "creates the appearance" of unlawful meddling. http:// hrld.us/1EsxUSN 5:32 PM - 25 Feb 2015 33 RETWEETS 11 FAVORITES

Judge Pohl continued, saying: “The appearance of unlawful command influence is as devastating to the military as the actual manipulation of any given trial.”

His ruling halts all activity in the case unless the rule is rescinded. Prosecutors have five days to appeal. Pentagon spokesman Army Lt. Col. Myles Caggins told the Associated Press there was no immediate comment.

Pohl has been based in the US and periodically travels to Guantanamo to preside over the military commission proceedings against five prisoners charged with planning and supporting the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.

Lawyers for the five men filed a motion on January 30 seeking to have the case dismissed because of the relocation order. They argued the order from January 7 was an improper attempt at “unlawful influence” with the death penalty case. The order was issued at the request of a Pentagon legal official who wanted to speed up litigation in three terror cases.

Tyler Pager @tylerpager Follow First update from this morning’s al-Nashiri hearing. Spath moves forward with trial despite 9/11 trial abatement: http://medillonthehill.net/2015/02/uss-cole-judge-moves-forward-even-as-911-judge-stops-trial-over-relocation-order/ … 12:57 PM - 25 Feb 2015

The Sept. 11 case is still in pretrial hearings. The men were arraigned in May 2012 and charged with 2,973 counts of murder and other terror-related charges. The five men charged are Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, and Mubarak Bin Attash. The next hearing is scheduled for April, but a trial date has not been set.

A similar order was issued to another military judge, Air Force Co. Vance Spath, who presided over the case of Guantanamo prisoner Abd al Rahim Al Nashiri. The detainee was charged in the attack on the USS Cole warship off Yemen that killed 17 US sailors and wounded dozens of others. Spath, who is also chief of the Air Force judiciary, is also hearing an argument this week on whether to dismiss the case for unlawful influence because of the order.

So far, none of the judges have obeyed these orders, pending clarifications from their overall commanders, known as the judge advocates general.

Source: RT News

• — Shocked politicians and rights groups call for inquiries into Homan Square
• — Rahm Emanuel faces questions as top supporters examine ‘outrageous’ abuse

‘I hadn’t heard of the sort of CIA or Gestapo tactics that were mentioned in the Guardian article until it was brought to my attention,’ Cook County commissioner Richard Boykin said in an interview outside Homan Square. ‘We are calling for the Department of Justice to open an investigation into these allegations.’ Photograph: Chandler West for the Guardian

(The Guardian) The US Department of Justice and embattled mayor Rahm Emanuel are under mounting pressure to investigate allegations of what one politician called “CIA or Gestapo tactics” at a secretive Chicago police facility exposed by the Guardian.

Politicians and civil-rights groups across the US expressed shock upon hearing descriptions of off-the-books interrogation at Homan Square, the Chicago warehouse that multiple lawyers and one shackled-up protester likened to a US counter-terrorist black site in a Guardian investigation published this week.

As three more people came forward detailing their stories of being “held hostage” and “strapped” inside Homan Square without access to an attorney or an official public record of their detention by Chicagopolice, officials and activists said the allegations merited further inquiry and risked aggravating wounds over community policing and race that have reached as high as the White House.

Caught in the swirl of questions around the complex – still active on Wednesday – was Emanuel, the former chief of staff to Barack Obama who is suddenly facing a mayoral runoff election after failing to win a majority in a contest that has seen debate over police tactics take a central role.

Emanuel’s office refused multiple requests for comment from the Guardian on Wednesday, referring a reporter to an unspecific denial from the Chicago police.

But Luis Gutiérrez, the influential Illinois congressman whose shifting support for Emanuel was expected to secure Tuesday’s election, joined a chorus of colleagues in asking for more information about Homan Square.

“I had not heard about the story until I read about it in the Guardian,” Gutiérrez said late Wednesday. “I want to get more information, but if the allegations are true, it sounds outrageous.”

Congressman Danny Davis, a Democrat who represents the Chicago west-side neighbourhood where Homan Square is located, said he was “terribly saddened” to hear of the allegations. Davis said he “would certainly strongly support an investigation” by the US Department of Justice, as two former senior justice department civil-rights officials urged the department on Wednesday to launch.

Earlier in the day, as a county commissioner urged the top law-enforcement investigators in the country to do the same, another reporter and photographer waited to accompany him on a visit outside the premises of Homan Square.

A man, in a jumpsuit and a ski mask, pulled out of the Homan Square parking lot in an SUV and made multiple circles before coming to a stop.

“You can take a picture,” said the man, who then offered what he considered a joke: “We are all CIA, right?”…

This man circled around a reporter and photographer for the Guardian twice while waiting for a local politician. Photograph: Chandler West for the Guardian

Tehran (AFP) - Iran on Saturday shrugged off a bid by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to abort a nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers by lobbying opposition in a speech to the US Congress.

"I believe this effort is fruitless and it should not be an impediment to an agreement," Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said at a joint press conference with his visiting Italian counterpart Paolo Gentiloni.

"It is unfortunate that there is a group which sees its interests in tension and crisis."

Netanyahu's bid was "an attempt to utilise a fabricated crisis to cover up realities in the region, including occupation, the suppression of Palestinians and the violation of their rights", he said.

"It is an on old policy to intimidate and spread lies … in order to prevent peace in the region," said Zarif.

Netanyahu will travel next week to Washington to denounce a possible agreement in the Iranian nuclear talks, which he considers contrary to the interests of Israel.

The Israeli leader said Wednesday that his speech before Congress was part of his "duty" to protect the Jewish state’s security.

"Under the agreement that is being prepared, we have reason to worry … if the world powers have apparently found common ground with Iran," he said.

The so-called P5+1 group of Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany are trying to strike an accord that would prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear bomb.

The next round of talks is to start next week in Switzerland.

In return, the West would ease punishing sanctions imposed on Tehran over its nuclear programme, which Iran insists is purely civilian.

A March 31 deadline for a political framework for the deal is looming with negotiators saying they will aim to pin down the final technical details by June 30.

Zarif said that Iranian and US delegations meeting in Geneva last week had made "significant progress" on technical issues.

"But still differences remain on many other topics, both on nuclear issues and on sanctions ... The United States and the West must realise that sanctions are an obstacle to reaching an agreement," he said.

Italy's foreign minister, for his part, called for "a solution on the nuclear issue" to allow for "expanded relations" between Tehran and Rome, according to a Persian translation of his remarks.

"Iran’s help will be effective in finding solutions to regional problems, including the fight against the extremism of Daesh," said Gentiloni, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic Jihad jihadist group.

Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov speaks on his mobile phone before giving an interview to radio station Ekho Moskvy, hours before he was shot in Moscow in this still image from an Ekho Moskvy video on February 27, 2015. REUTERS/Ekho Moskvy via Reuters TV

By Timothy Heritage and Katya Golubkova

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Opposition supporters will march through Moscow on Sunday in memory of Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov, whose murder has increased concern about Russia's future among opponents of President Vladimir Putin.

Thousands of people laid flowers and lit candles on Saturday on a bridge near the Kremlin where the opposition politician and former deputy prime minister was shot dead late on Friday.

National investigators who answer to Putin say they are pursuing several lines of inquiry, including the possibility that Nemtsov, a Jew, was killed by radical Islamists or that the opposition killed him to blacken the president's name.

Putin's opponents say such suggestions show the cynicism of Russia's leaders as they whip up nationalism, hatred and anti-Western hysteria to rally support for his policies on Ukraine and deflect blame for an economic crisis.

"It is a blow to Russia. If political views are punished this way, then this country simply has no future," Sergei Mitrokhin, an opposition leader, said of Nemtsov's murder.

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Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov speaks on his mobile phone before giving an interview to …

Putin has described the killing as a "provocation", and told Nemtsov's mother that the killers would be found and punished.

Some Muscovites, accepting a line repeated by state media, appear to agree that the opposition, struggling to make an impact after a clampdown on dissent in Putin's third spell as president, might have killed one of their own.

"The authorities definitely do not benefit from this. Everybody had long forgotten about this man, Nemtsov ... It is definitely a 'provocation'," said one Moscow resident, who gave his name only as Denis.

PUTIN REMAINS DOMINANT

Nemtsov, who was 55, was one of the leading lights of an opposition struggling to revive its fortunes, three years after mass rallies against Putin that failed to prevent him returning to the presidency after four years as prime minister.

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People gather at the site where Boris Nemtsov was recently murdered, with St. Basil's Cathedral …

Putin has now been Russia's dominant leader since 2000, when ailing President Boris Yeltsin chose the former KGB spy as his successor, a role Nemtsov had once been destined to play.

Even many of Putin's opponents have little doubt that he will win another six years in power at the next election, due in 2018, despite a financial crisis aggravated by Western economic sanctions over the Ukraine crisis and a fall in oil prices.

Many opposition leaders have been jailed on what they say are trumped-up charges, or have fled the country.

Nemtsov had hoped, however, to start the opposition's revival with a march in Marino on the outskirts of Moscow on Sunday to protest against Putin's economic policies and what they see as Russia's involvement in the separatist war in east Ukraine. The Kremlin denies any role in the fighting.

Announcing a new plan after Nemtsov's death, Leonid Volkov, one of the organizers, said: "The march in the Marino district which we had planned - a positive march with flags and balloons - does not fit this tragic moment and the magnitude of Nemtsov's persona, as well as the magnitude of the red line we have now crossed and which we have not yet recognized."

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People gather at the site where Boris Nemtsov was recently murdered in central Moscow, February 28, …

The opposition said Moscow city authorities had approved the march from 3 p.m. (1200 GMT), allowing for up to 50,000 people, though the organizers say more could show up to march alongside the River Moskva.

Nemtsov had said in an interview that he feared Putin may want him dead because of his outspoken criticism of Russia's role in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Nemtsov had told him about two weeks ago that he planned to publish evidence of Russian involvement in Ukraine's separatist conflict.

"Someone was very afraid of this ... They killed him," Poroshenko said in televised comments shown in Ukraine.

Kiev, the West and some Russians accuse Moscow of sending troops and weaponry to support separatist rebels who have risen up in east Ukraine, an accusation Russia has denied.

Others saw the murder as a result of a climate of fear where Putin demands total loyalty and supporters go to great lengths to do what they think may please him.

(Reporting By Timothy Heritage; editing by Ralph Boulton)