Islamist group Hamas officially banned in the UK

The Islamist terrorist group Hamas has today become a proscribed terrorist organisation in the UK in its entirety, following Parliament’s approval of an Order which was laid in Parliament on Friday (19 November).

This means that members of Hamas or those who invite support for the group could be jailed for up to 14 years.

The group’s listing has been amended in the list of proscribed organisations to reflect this change.

Hamas has already been proscribed as a terrorist group by the EU, U.S., and Canada.

The group, which was founded in 1987 as an offshoot of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, is the largest Palestinian militant groups.

The U.K. banned its military wing in March 2001, and the new ban will extend to its political arm.

The Community Security Trust,  a British charity whose purpose is to provide safety, security, and advice to the Jewish community in the UK, welcomed the news: