Hamas asks UK ministers to take it off list of proscribed terror groups

Hamas has submitted a legal filing saying it should be removed from the UK government's list of proscribed terrorist organisations.

- Haroon Siddique

The Palestinian Islamist group, which carried out the 7 October 2023 attacks on southern Israel, in which more than 1,200 people, mainly civilians, were killed and a further 250 taken hostage, is arguing that it is not a terrorist group.

Instead it is "a Palestinian Islamic liberation and resistance movement whose goal is to liberate Palestine and confront the Zionist project".

The assertion is contained in a witness statement from Mousa Abu Marzouk, the head of international relations for Hamas and the applicant for the claim to the home secretary, Yvette Cooper.

His statement, published by Drop Site News, added: "The British government's decision to proscribe Hamas is an unjust one that is symptomatic of its unwavering support for Zionism, apartheid, occupation and ethnic cleansing in Palestine for over a century.

"Hamas does not and never has posed a threat to Britain, despite the latter's ongoing complicity in the genocide of our people."

The Home Office said it did not comment on proscription matters.