UK to designate entire Hamas a terror group, outlaw support
The United Kingdom will designate Hamas as a terror organization on Friday and outlaw support for the group, with violators liable to face up to 10 years in prison, the British Embassy in Israel confirmed.Israel cheers as UK says it will designate Hamas as terror group
UK Home Secretary Priti Patel will make the announcement Friday during an event in Washington, DC, according to a statement from the embassy.
The UK recognized the Hamas military wing — the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades — as a terror organization in 2001, but did not extend that designation to its political arm, which rules Gaza.
Speaking to reporters in Washington on Thursday, Patel said that distinction was no longer defensible.
“We’ve taken the view that we can no longer disaggregate the sort of military and political side,” she said, according to The Guardian. “It’s based upon a wide range of intelligence, information and also links to terrorism. The severity of that speaks for itself.”
Patel will advance the designation through parliament next week, according to The Guardian. The outlawing of the group would see those who express support for Hamas, meet with its members, or fly its flag, face criminal punishment of up to a decade in prison.
In her speech on Friday, Patel will call Hamas “rabidly antisemitic,” and say the outlawing of the terror group aims to make Britain’s Jews feel more secure.
“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 significant terrorist violence,” her prepared remarks said, according to a statement from the British Embassy in Israel.
“But the current listing of Hamas creates an artificial distinction between various parts of the organization – it is right that the listing is updated to reflect this. This is an important step, especially for the Jewish community. If we tolerate extremism, it will erode the rock of security.”
Israel on Friday praised the United Kingdom’s planned move to designate the entirety of Hamas as a terror organization and outlaw support for the group.
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid thanked UK Home Secretary Priti Patel after she announced Friday that the British government intends to eliminate the distinction between the group’s political and military wings.
“This is an important and significant decision that gives British security bodies additional tools to prevent the continued buildup of the Hamas terror organization, including in Britain,” Lapid said.
“There is no legitimate part to a terror organization and any attempt to separate parts of a terror organization is artificial,” the foreign minister added.
The decision was also cheered by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
“Hamas is a terror organization, plain and simple. The ‘political wing’ enables its military activity. The same terrorists — only in suits,” Bennett tweeted.
Bennett thanked his counterpart, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson for his “leadership on the subject.”
Extremist jihadism has no place in democratic countries or anywhere else.
— Tzipi Hotovely (@TzipiHotovely) November 19, 2021
It is impossible to separate between the political wing and the military wing of an organisation that has murdered innocent civilians for decades. 2/3
Corbyn Would Face 10 Years in Prison If He Defies UK’s New Total Ban on Hamas
Patel told reporters in DC on Thursday: “We’ve taken the view that we can no longer disaggregate the sort of military and political side. It’s based upon a wide range of intelligence, information and also links to terrorism. The severity of that speaks for itself.”
Back in 2009, then-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called Hamas and Hezbollah “friends.” In a testimony he gave in 2016 in an investigation of anti-Semitism within his party, Corbyn said: “The language I used at that meeting was actually here in parliament and it was about encouraging the meeting to go ahead, encouraging there to be a discussion about the peace process.”
When asked if he still thought Hamas and Hezbollah were friends, Corbyn answered, “No. It was the inclusive language I used which with hindsight I would rather not have used. I regret using those words, of course.”
Corbyn also said he regretted comparing Israel to Iran, but that would not land him in jail after the new ban on Hamas takes effect. Saying Hamas are friends of the UK would.
Home Secretary Patel’s paternal grandparents were born in Gujarat, India, and immigrated to Uganda where they ran a convenience store in Kampala. Her parents immigrated to the UK in the 1960s and settled in Hertfordshire, where they established a chain of newsagents in London and the South East of England. Priti was raised as a Hindu. Her father was a candidate for the right-wing UKIP for Hertfordshire in 2013. His daughter became involved in Conservative Party politics in 2005.
Another member of Hamas' politburo, Fathi Hamad, has long been suspected of creating a Hamas proxy militant group, Humat al-Aqsa. The group was involved in the latest round of fighting in May. Hamad also recently visited an al-Qassam site to inaugurate a mock Merkava IV tank. pic.twitter.com/OKywsAEgJu
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) November 19, 2021
Hamas has issued a statement re: its reported designation as a terrorist entity by the UK. The group derided the decision & described it as a continued betrayal of the Palestinian people and claimed the UK should apologize for past actions such as the Balfour Declaration. #Gaza pic.twitter.com/7HXmfDcWvr
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) November 19, 2021
Hamas calls on Justin Bieber to cancel show in Israel
Hamas called on Justin Bieber on Thursday to cancel his planned concert in Tel Aviv scheduled for October 13, 2022, KAN news reported.
On Monday, it was announced Bieber will perform at Hayarkon Park next year as part of his Justice World Tour.
Hamas has also reportedly called on Bieber to boycott Israel altogether due to its "crimes against the Palestinian people."
The last time that Bieber had set foot in Israel was in 2017, where he performed at the same venue. Approximately 50,000 people were in attendance.
The first time that Bieber appeared in Israel was in 2011.