The Palestinian resistance group Hamas announced Sunday that it will take legal action against the UK, which recently listed it as a terrorist organization.
Speaking at an online conference held by the Center for Palestinian Refugee Studies, Hamas Political Bureau chief Mousa Abu Marzouk said the group is actively working with various institutions and organizations against the move.
Hamas is working on a strategy with British lawyers for the cancellation of the decision, Marzouk added.
He noted that causing division in Palestine would not serve the interests of Hamas, adding the movement intends to protect its homeland and the resistance.
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Marzouk also urged the Palestinian administration and the Fatah movement to reconciliate on the basis of the interests of the Palestinian public, partnership and resistance.
The UK’s Interior Ministry declared in a statement that Hamas was included on a list of banned terrorist organizations after legislation was approved by parliament on Nov. 19.
The statement said members of Hamas or those who support it could be sentenced up to 14 years in prison.
The UK’s Ban on Hamas Is a Belated Step in the Right Direction: Twenty years after Britain outlawed Hamas’s military wing, the home secretary, Priti Patel, has decided to proscribe the entire organization. Stephen Daisley applauds this decision,… https://t.co/4itZc1v5xh Mosaic
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The UK outlawed Hamas’ military wing, known as the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, in 2001.
UK sanctions Hamas
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Friday condemned the UK government’s decision to declare Hamas a terror organization.
The top Iranian diplomat said the rights of Palestinians “cannot be trampled on by distorting facts.”
“The only political solution for Palestine lies in holding a referendum among all indigenous residents,” Amir-Abdollahian wrote in a statement on Twitter.
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Earlier Friday, British Home Secretary Priti Patel called the Palestinian resistance movement “fundamentally and rabidly anti-Semitic,” adding that it was not possible to draw a line between the group’s political and military wings.
The move, which will be pushed in the UK parliament next week, could see Hamas supporters and activists face jail terms of up to 14 years.
Anadolu with additional input by GVS News Desk