Today, U.K. Home Secretary Priti Patel announced that Hamas, a U.S.-designated
Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), will be similarly banned in its e


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U.K. To Ban Terror Group Hamas In Its Entirety

 

(New York, N.Y.) – Today, U.K. Home Secretary Priti Patel announced
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 that Hamas, a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), will be
similarly banned in its entirety under the U.K.’s Terrorism Act. The new policy
will supplant a ban on the Hamas’s military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam
Brigades. The British government’s latest move represents both a rejection of
the group’s extreme antisemitic ideology and a recognition that artificially
dividing Hamas into separate military and political wings, like with Hezbollah,
was a mistake.

 

Hamas, the Palestinian offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, uses its provision
of social services to build grassroots support amongst Palestinians, helping it
to win the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections. Governance, however, did not
moderate Hamas or temper its commitment to terrorism. Hamas has continued to
carry out bombings, rocket and mortar attacks, shootings, and kidnappings.
Earlier this year, Human Rights Watchaccused
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Hamas of war crimes when it fired thousands of rockets and mortars into
Israeli population centers and endangered Palestinian as well as Israeli
civilians. In 2015, Amnesty International similarlyaccused
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Hamas of war crimes against Palestinian civilians during its 2014 conflict
with Israel.

 

Hamas does not recognize Israel’s right to exist and has dedicated itself to
violently seeking Israel’s destruction. It has been steadfast in its refusal to
disarm, while its leaders have remained committed to the group’s violent
strategy. In response to Britain’s planned proscription today, Hamas again
reiterated its commitment to so-called “armed resistance.” In 2013, Hamas
leaders declared the “gun” is the “only response” to Israel. The 1988 Hamas
charter reiterates a Quranic call for Muslims to “fight the Jews (killing the
Jews)” before the arrival of Judgment Day. Despite Hamas’s insistence that it
is only anti-Israel and not antisemitic, Hamas members continue to use “Jews”
and “Israel” interchangeably in calling for violence.

 

To read the Counter Extremism Project (CEP)’s resource Hamas, please click here
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