UK to ban Hamas as terrorist group

LONDON, Nov 19 (Agencies): Britain's interior minister Priti Patel on Friday said she had proscribed Palestinian militant group Hamas, in a move that brings the country's stance on Gaza's rulers in line with the United States and the European Union.

"Hamas has significant terrorist capability, including access to extensive and sophisticated weaponry, as well as terrorist training facilities," Patel said in a statement.

"That is why today I have acted to proscribe Hamas in its entirety."

Meanwhile, Hamas has condemned a move by Britain towards banning the group as a terrorist organisation which could see supporters of the Palestinian movement face up to 14 years in prison.

Home Secretary Priti Patel, who will push for the ban in Parliament next week, argued on Friday that it was not possible to distinguish between Hamas’s political and military wings. She called Hamas “fundamentally and rabidly anti-Semitic”, adding the proscription was required to protect the Jewish community.

Hamas responded in a statement, saying: “Instead of apologising and correcting its historical sin against the Palestinian people … [Britain] supports the aggressors at the expense of the victims.”

That comment referred to the Balfour Declaration and British Mandate, which it said handed “Palestinian lands to the Zionist movement”.

“Resisting occupation, by all available means, including armed resistance, is a right guaranteed by international law to people under occupation,” added the statement.

The group called on its supporters to condemn the UK’s move, as it described Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands, forcible displacement of Palestinians, the demolition of their homes, and the siege of more than two million people in Gaza Strip, as “terrorism”.

Patel, who is on a trip to Washington, DC, said her move was “based upon a wide range of intelligence, information and also links to terrorism”. “The severity of that speaks for itself,” she said.

In 2017, Patel was forced to resign as Britain’s international development secretary after she failed to disclose meetings with senior Israeli officials during a private holiday trip to the country.

She met then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-opposition leader Yair Lapid.

The Qassam Brigades military wing of the Palestinian movement that rules the Gaza Strip has been banned in Britain since March 2001. An outright ban under the Terrorism Act 2000 will bring the United Kingdom in line with the United States and the European Union. If Patel’s bid is successful, flying Hamas’s flag, arranging to meet its members or wearing clothing supporting the group will be outlawed.

Politically, it could force Britain’s main opposition group to take a position on Hamas, given strong pro-Palestinian support among the more left-wing members of the Labour Party.