The procedure will make it possible to define the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization in countries such as Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt • Conspicuous by their absence: Turkey and Qatar, US allies, where the Muslim Brotherhood is part of the government • Netanyahu welcomed and hinted at a possible local action against Mansour Abbas’s regime
A day after US President Donald Trump announced that he would declare the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization, the White House announced tonight (between Monday and Tuesday) that Trump signed the presidential decree which starts the procedure. According to the order, the American ministers of foreign affairs and finance will submit recommendations to the president within 30 days regarding the definition of Muslim Brotherhood branches in certain countries as a terrorist organization. Within 45 days of submitting the conclusions, measures are expected to be announced against those branches.
The presidential order signed by President Trump focuses on the branches of the Muslim Brotherhood in Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt. Noticeable in its absence is any reference to the branches of the Muslim Brotherhood in Turkey and Qatar – which are actually part of the government in those countries. Qatar and Turkey are key allies of the US, especially since Trump entered the White House. The Trump administration has helped Qatar and Turkey in a series of crises in the world such as the war in Gaza, the war in Ukraine and the release of Americans in various parts of the world.
“President Trump is facing the international network of the Muslim Brotherhood, which encourages terrorism and campaigns against the United States with the aim of destabilizing it, and against its allies in the Middle East,” the White House said. Yesterday Trump said in an interview to the website Just The News that “this will be done in the strongest terms. Final documents are in the process of being drawn up.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last night commented on the report that Trump will declare the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization. “I want to praise President Trump for his decision to outlaw and define the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization,” Netanyahu said.
He also said: “It is an organization that endangers stability throughout the Middle East and beyond. Therefore, the State of Israel has already outlawed part of the organization, and we are working to complete this operation soon,” according to Netanyahu, who in his words alluded to Mansor Abbas’s Ream party.