GAZA

Palestinian movement Hamas on Sunday called on King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia to urge Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi to halt what it described as "Egypt's hostile stances towards Hamas and the Gaza Strip."

"We urge King Salman of Saudi Arabia to interfere and pressure President al-Sisi to halt Egypt's hostile stances towards Hamas and Gaza," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said in a statement.

Al-Sisi arrived in Riyadh earlier Sunday on his first official visit since King Salman ascended to the throne in January.

In his statement, Barhoum denounced what it described as "Egypt's lying media and politicized judiciary."

A Cairo court on Saturday designated Hamas as a "terrorist" group over claims that the group had carried out terrorist attacks in Egypt through tunnels linking the Sinai Peninsula to the Gaza Strip.

In March 2014, the same court outlawed Hamas' activities in Egypt and confiscated its offices.

The court had said that the ban would be temporary until another court – which is trying ousted President Mohamed Morsi for alleged "collaboration" with Hamas to carry out "hostile" acts in Egypt – delivers its final verdict.

Late in January, another Egyptian court declared the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, a terrorist organization.

A number of Hamas members have been among the defendants in two trials that Morsi – a Muslim Brotherhood leader – currently faces for alleged espionage and jailbreak.

Egypt's media has blamed Hamas, an ideological offshoot of the Brotherhood, for a series of deadly attacks on security forces since Morsi's ouster. Hamas has consistently denied the allegations.