Egyptian security services began investigating Palestinians in order to revoke their Egyptian citizenship that was granted during the reign of former president Mohamed Morsi.
Egyptian authorities plan on revoking the citizenship of 13,757 Palestinians that are under investigation, most of whom are affiliated with Hamas, according to security sources quoted in a report on Thursday in the Egyptian newspaper Al-Youm Al-Sabaa.
Security forces say that Hamas members that became Egyptian citizens have taken part in terrorist attacks.
The prime minister has the ability to revoke the citizenship of Hamas members without a court hearing if they are deemed a threat to public safety, said the report.
This move follows a decision by an Egyptian court on Tuesday to ban Hamas activities in the country.
The court also ordered the closure of Hamas offices in Egypt, one of the judges overseeing the case told Reuters. The judge stopped short of declaring Hamas a terrorist group, saying the court did not have the jurisdiction to do so.
The military-buttressed authorities now classify Hamas as a significant security risk, accusing it of supporting an Islamist insurgency that has spread quickly since Morsi's fall, allegations the Palestinian group denies.
The Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood later became known as Hamas at the outbreak of the first Intifada in 1987.
