Priti Patel to declare Hamas a terrorist organisation in crackdown on anti-Semitism

Hamas is to be proscribed as a terrorist organisation in a new crackdown on anti-Semitism, Priti Patel will announce on Friday.

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 prison under new laws to be laid in Parliament.

Ms Patel said the move would send a "very strong message to any individual that thinks it is OK to support an organisation like Hamas".

The legal change closes a loophole which allows Hamas flags to be flown, its anti-Zionist ideology to be promoted, funds to be raised, material disseminated and representatives to operate in the UK. Only its military wing is banned.

"This is an important step, especially for the Jewish community. 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," the Home Secretary said.

"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."

Hamas ‘has access to extensive and sophisticated weaponry’

Britain banned the military wing of Hamas in 2001 but, unlike the US, Canada, the EU and Japan, has not outlawed its political offshoot. The EU ban provided some cover but this disappeared after Brexit, prompting Friday's move. It is understood there was some resistance within the Home Office.

However, Ms Patel said: "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 significant terrorist violence."

Claudia Mendoza, the co-chief executive of the Jewish Leadership Council, said: "The myth that Hamas has separate military and political wings is finally laid to rest, and we welcome this bold and important step by the Government."

Jeremy Corbyn ‘has never been a supporter of Hamas’

Ms Patel said she hoped Labour would back the move, unlike when it allowed MPs to abstain on proscribing Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation in 2019.

Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader, has defended 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 Palestine in 2010, chaired a panel at an event in Qatar with Khaled Mashaal, the head of Hamas, in 2012 and invited leading Hamas activists and supporters to a meeting in the Commons in 2015.

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."

On Friday, Ms Patel will set out her belief that true freedoms, such as free speech, can only be achieved through tougher security measures and laws, saying: "Freedom is utterly dependent on security. I believe it is impossible for an individual or a country to be both free and unsafe."

Board of Deputies of British Jews President Marie van der Zyl said: "We welcome the Home Secretary’s announcement that the UK Government is proscribing Hamas in its entirety as a terrorist organisation. The Board of Deputies of British Jews has long led the call for this alongside our communal partners.

"The proscription ends the dangerous loophole via which this terrorist organisation can spread its extremist poison here and raise funds and support in the UK. Hamas regularly espouses violent jihad and grotesque antisemitism.

"It is responsible for countless terror attacks including suicide bombings, the murder of Israeli citizens and others, the use of Palestinian civilians as human shields, repression of political opponents, women and LGBT people. We are immensely grateful that it will no longer have any safe harbour or support in the UK. We thank the Prime Minister, the Home Secretary, and the Government for this decisive action in tackling extremism."