"Any decision such as this is an attempt to besiege the resistance, and serves the Israeli occupation," Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas official, said on Tuesday.

Hamas spokesman, Sami Abu Zuhri, also condemned the court ruling, saying, "The decision harms the image of Egypt and its role towards the Palestinian cause…. It reflects a form of standing against Palestinian resistance."

Earlier on Tuesday, a court in Egypt banned all activities by Hamas and ordered the seizure of its offices and assets.

A lawsuit filed by an Egyptian lawyer had demanded the move because of Hamas links to the Muslim Brotherhood. On Dec 25, 2013, Egypt's interim government officially designated the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group.

Relations between Egypt’s new military-installed authorities, led by military chief Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, and Hamas have turned sour ever since President Mohammed Morsi was ousted by the army on July 3, 2013, after just a year in power.

Egyptian officials accuse Hamas of what they describe as plotting with Morsi and Brotherhood movement to carry out terror attacks in Egypt. They say Hamas members along with Morsi were involved in organizing jailbreaks and attacks on police stations during a popular uprising against former Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

Hamas says the allegations are fabricated and an attempt to demonize the movement.

Egypt's military has also squeezed Gaza's economy by destroying most of the 1,200 tunnels used to take food and other basic commodities into the Palestinian coastal enclave, which has been under Israeli blockade since June 2007.

SHI/SHI