LONDON (Palestine Foundation Information Center) A team of lawyers in Britain has submitted a legal request to remove Hamas from the list of banned terrorist organizations in the country, arguing that its 2021 classification was driven by political motives and represented a “misuse of the Home Office’s authorities.”
In November 2021, then British home secretary Priti Patel announced that the political bureau of Hamas had been designated as a terrorist organization following a previous decision that had only banned the armed wing of Hamas, al-Qassam Brigades.
Daniel Grutters, one of the lawyers leading the legal process for Hamas in Britain, told Anadolu news agency that Patel’s decision in 2021 was made for “political reasons” and constituted “an abuse of power.”
Grutters said the application seeks to remove Hamas from Britain’s list of banned organizations and that the group has the right to challenge the decision, for which he is providing legal assistance to his client during the preparation stage.
The application seeks to overturn the ban and restore Hamas’s legal status in the European country, he said, noting that under current British law, it is illegal to support or sympathize with banned organizations. If Hamas is removed from the list, the restrictions will be lifted, he added.
One of the application’s primary arguments is that the Palestinian people have the right to armed resistance under international law, and the petition also describes Israel’s occupation of Gaza as illegal — where genocide has been ongoing since October 2023, Grutters said.
He pointed out that armed resistance to these crimes is a “right,” and that the application explains how Hamas is exercising that right.
“It’s Hamas who’s in the Gaza Strip fighting the (Israeli) genocide, and under international law. That right to resist should be recognized and should be facilitated, in particular in the context of the crime of genocide, which is the most horrendous crime known to man and is recognized as such by most states in the world, including the United Kingdom,” he explained.
The application has been submitted to the current home secretary, Yvette Cooper, who is expected to give her decision in this regard within 90 days.
Grutters said there are two possible outcomes: Cooper could accept the application and submit a bill to Parliament to remove Hamas from the list, or she could reject it and provide reasons for her decision.
If rejected, Hamas can appeal to the Proscribed Organizations Appeal Commission, but only if the home secretary’s decision is deemed unlawful or unreasonable.
Highlighting the International Court of Justice’s findings against Israel, he said countries must end these crimes, adding that “the political disagreements with groups trying to end those crimes” should not be, as suggested by the application, “determinative” as to how the home secretary “engages those groups.”
