The Egyptian government has appealed against a court ruling that designated Hamas a terrorist organisation.
The Cairo Appeal Court for Urgent Matters on Wednesday said it would hear an appeal by the Egyptian State Lawsuits Authority against a lower court’s ruling that designated the Palestinian Islamist group a terrorist organisation.
The court will hear the appeal on 28 March.
In late February, the Cairo Court for Urgent Matters ruled Hamas a terrorist organisation, a month after the group's military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, was also designated a terror group by the same court.
The verdict resulted from two separate private lawsuits filed by lawyers Samir Sabry and Ashraf Said.
Hamas has praised the decision of the Egyptian government to appeal against the ruling.
“This decision proves that the verdict in February was a huge mistake,” Sami Abu Zuhri, the official Hamas spokesperson, said on Wednesday.
Abu Zuhri added that the movement hoped the appeal would correct the "mistake" and improve Egyptian-Palestinian relations.
Hamas had described the initial ruling as a “big shame that taunts Egypt’s reputation.”
The relationship between Egypt and Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood’s sister organisation in Gaza, soured after the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.
The Muslim Brotherhood was designated as terrorist organisation by the Egyptian government in November 2013.
Egypt has accused Hamas of meddling in its internal affairs and supporting Islamist insurgents in Sinai.
Hamas has denied these accusations.
