The U.S. State Department has designated a Gaza-based jihadist umbrella group as a terrorist organization.
Known as the Mujahidin Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem, it has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks on Israel since the group’s founding in 2012.
Its designation as a terrorist group means that American individuals and organizations are barred from any transactions with the council and that any assets it holds in the United States will be frozen.
The council was designated a “foreign terrorist organization” and a “specially designated global terrorist” entity.”
It claimed responsibility for an August 2013 rocket attack on Eilat and an April 2013 attack on the city. It also claimed responsibility for a Gaza-Israel cross-border bomb attack in June 2012 that targeted an Israeli construction site, killing one civilian.
In February, the council released a statement declaring support for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL, according to the State Department, which now has termed sic groups this year foreign terrorist organizations.
The Shura Council was known as far back as 2012 and has posted videos and online messages proclaiming that “there is no place in the Arab and Muslim world for liberal and secular democratic values.
Congratulations to the State Dept. for waking up after two years. Perhaps the fatal blow that prompted to State Dept. to act was the Council’s public claim that it is against the peace process and that the Fatah-Hamas unity government is an attack on all Muslims.
JTA contributed to this report.