Patel to outlaw Hamas as a terrorist group
Palestinian organisation’s political wing to be banned as the Home Secretary moves on anti-semitism
HAMAS is to be proscribed as a terrorist organisation in a crackdown on antisemitism being announced today.
Anyone who “recklessly” supports it, arranges meetings to back it, invites people to endorse it or is a member will face up to 10 years in jail under laws to be laid in Parliament. Referring in all but name to former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, a past supporter of Hamas, Priti Patel said the ban would send a “very strong message to any individual that thinks it is okay to support an organisation like Hamas”.
The ban on the group’s political wing closes a loophole that allows Hamas flags to be flown, its anti-zionist ideology to be promoted, funds to be raised, material disseminated and its representatives to operate in the UK.
“Hamas is fundamentally and rabidly anti-semitic. Anti-semitism is an enduring evil which I will never tolerate. Jewish people routinely feel unsafe – at school, in the streets, when they worship, in their homes and online,” said the Home Secretary.
“This step will strengthen the case against anyone who waves a Hamas flag in the United Kingdom, an act that is bound to make Jewish people feel unsafe. Anyone who supports or invites support for a proscribed organisation is breaking the law. That now includes Hamas in whatever form it takes.”
Britain banned Hamas’s military wing in 2001 but, unlike the US, Canada, the EU and Japan, had not outlawed its political offshoot. The EU’S ban provided some cover but this disappeared after Brexit, prompting today’s move. It is understood there was some resistance within the Home Office.
Ms Patel added: “The current listing of Hamas creates an artificial distinction between various parts of the organisation – it is right that the listing is updated to reflect this.
“Hamas has significant terrorist capability, including access to extensive and sophisticated weaponry, as well as terrorist training facilities, and it has long been involved in terrorist violence.”
She said she hoped Labour would back the move unlike when the party allowed MPS to abstain on proscribing Hizbollah as a terrorist organisation. “In light of what we know about them, we do expect and we do hope that the Labour Party will support it,” she said.
Mr Corbyn has defended his past meetings with leading Hamas figures because of his “principled solidarity with the Palestinian people and engaging with actors to support peace and justice in the Middle East”.
He met Hamas officials in Israel and in Palestinian territories in 2010, chaired a panel at an event in Qatar with Khaled Mashaal, the head of Hamas, in April 2012 and then invited Hamas activists and supporters to a meeting in the House of Commons in March 2015.
The Home Secretary will set out her belief that true freedoms such as free speech can only be achieved through tougher security measures and laws.
A spokesman for Mr Corbyn said: “Jeremy Corbyn is a supporter of justice and human rights for the Palestinian people, peace and a two-state solution.
“He has never been a supporter of Hamas but recognises the need to bring all sides together for dialogue to promote security, peace and justice for both peoples.”