Washington, DC – The United States has designated Muslim Brotherhood organisations in Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan as “terrorist” groups, the administration of President Donald Trump announces, as Washington intensifies its crackdown on Israel’s rivals across the world.The decision on Tuesday came weeks after Trump issued an executive order directing his administration to start the process of blacklisting the groups.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listThe US Department of the Treasury labelled the groups in Jordan and Egypt as “specially designated global terrorists”, and the Department of State blacklisted the Lebanese organisation with a more serious designation – “foreign terrorist organisation” (FTO).The Trump administration cited alleged support for the Palestinian group Hamas and “activities against Israeli interests in the Middle East” as the driving reason behind targeting the Muslim Brotherhood.“Chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood purport to be legitimate civic organizations while, behind the scenes, they explicitly and enthusiastically support terrorist groups like Hamas,” the US Treasury said in a statement.The designations make it illegal to provide material support to the groups. They also impose economic sanctions to choke their revenue streams. The FTO label carries the added penalty of banning members of the group from entering the US.The Muslim BrotherhoodEstablished in 1928 by Egyptian Muslim scholar Hassan al-Banna, the Muslim Brotherhood has offshoots and branches across the Middle East, including political parties and social organisations. Advertisement The group and its affiliates say they are committed to peaceful …
