Trump orders blacklisting Muslim Brotherhood branches as ‘terrorist’ groups

United States President Donald Trump has ordered his aides to start a process to label the branches of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan as “terrorist” organisations, citing their alleged support for the Palestinian group Hamas. Trump issued the decree on Monday as Washington intensified its crackdown on Israel’s foes in the region. The decree accused Muslim Brotherhood leaders in Jordan of providing “material support” to Hamas and the Lebanese branch of the group – known as al-Jamaa al-Islamiya – of siding with Hamas and Hezbollah in their war with Israel. It also claimed that an Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood leader “called for violent attacks against United States partners and interests” during Israel’s war on Gaza. But it was not clear what the White House was referring to. The Muslim Brotherhood has been banned in Egypt and mostly driven underground. Trump’s order directs the secretary of state and the treasury secretary to consult with the US intelligence chief and produce a report on the designation within 30 days. A formal “foreign terrorist organisation” label would then officially apply to the Muslim Brotherhood branches within 45 days after the report. Al Jazeera’s Rosalind Jordan reports from Washington, DC. Rami Khouri is a distinguished fellow at the American University of Beirut. He says Trump is pandering to domestic audiences, and the threat of a terrorism designation means very little. Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe Follow us on X: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera Check our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/ Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/ Download AJE Mobile App: https://aje.io/AJEMobile #UnitedStates #DonaldTrump #MuslimBrotherhood #USTerrorDesignation #USForeignPolicy #Hamas #StateDepartment #DesignatedForeignTerroristOrganizations #AlJazeeraEnglish