Australia’s new resolution on Hamas: details
Australia announced today its intention to designate the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, both militarily and politically, as a terrorist organization.
Announcing the designation of eight organizations, Australian Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews said: “The views of Hamas and other violent extremist groups that have been included in the list today are deeply troubling and there is no place in Australia for their abhorrent doctrines”.
She added: “It is essential that our laws target not only terrorist activities and terrorists but also organizations that plan, finance, and carry out such acts”.
Australia had previously listed Hamas’ Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades as a terrorist organization, but the new designation includes the entire Hamas organization.
The designation would place restrictions on funding and any kind of support for Hamas, and some activities related to the movement could be punishable by up to 25 years in prison.
The movement has been designated a terrorist organization by a number of Western countries such as Britain and the United States, and a similar EU decision has been the subject of a lengthy court case that ultimately led to Hamas’s return to the terror list.
