Hamas terrorists
Hamas terroristsReuters

Hamas on Wednesday dismissed the ruling of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) that the organization should be left on the European Union's (EU) list of terror organizations.

Hamas, which controls Gaza, said the decision "has no bearing on politics".

"We will keep up our legal battle to have Hamas removed from the list of terrorist organizations," said a statement from the Islamists quoted by AFP.

The EU's list of terror organizations ensures the affected groups' funds stay frozen, limits the movements of Hamas affiliates, and prohibits the business from openly doing business in the EU.

The ECJ's ruling came after an EU appeal of the 2014 ruling by a lower EU court to remove Hamas from its list of terrorist groups.

The ECJ ruled that Hamas should remain in the EU terror list, overruling the General Court's decision view of 2014 that the 28-nation bloc had insufficient evidence to maintain asset freezes and travel bans on Hamas.

In September 2016, ECJ Advocate-General Eleanor Sharpston said EU governments should independently present evidence on attacks perpetrated by the groups, and that information from outside countries such as the U.S. is not sufficient.

The Conference of European Rabbis praised the ECJ ruling, saying, “Hamas’s ideology is devoted to terrorism and it is important that they remain officially designated as terrorists within the European Union. What Hamas has done in areas under its control has had far reaching consequences and their aspiration to murder 'infidels' is horrific and shocking. We hope that the European Union will continue to hold Hamas to account and to stop their ideology from spreading to European youth.”