Egypt rejects citizenship application by Hamas negotiator’s daughter on ‘security grounds’
Asmaa Hamad submitted her application while living in Egypt but has since relocated to Qatar with her husband, according to Egyptian media reports.
Egypt's Interior Ministry has denied citizenship to Asmaa Hamad, the daughter of Hamas political bureau member Ghazi Hamad, citing security concerns, according to a recent official decree. Asmaa, who was born in Egypt in 1989, applied for citizenship while residing in the country but has since moved to Qatar with her husband. The ministry's denial, announced in the Official Gazette, is reportedly surprising to a family source, as three of Asmaa's siblings had already secured Egyptian citizenship through their mother.
The ministry's decision is based on Article 3, Paragraph 2 of Law No. 154 of 2004, which grants individuals born to an Egyptian mother and a non-Egyptian father the right to apply for Egyptian nationality. Asmaa's case falls under this provision, allowing the ministry a one-year window to either approve or reject the application.
Ghazi Hamad, Asmaa's father, is a senior Hamas political official and spokesperson for the terrorist organization. He has been sanctioned by the US Treasury Department for his role in Hamas' fundraising and weapons smuggling operations. Asmaa gained prominence during the Israel-Hamas war, participating in hostage-ceasefire negotiations in Doha following the October 7, 2023, attack. The Egyptian Embassy in Tel Aviv has not provided a comment on the matter.
Written by urgent.news from Jerusalem Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
