Sydney: The Australian government has said that it intends to list the whole of the Palestinian movement Hamas to its list of outlawed terrorist organisations.
Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews said on Thursday that the views of Hamas and the violent extremist groups listed today are deeply disturbing, and there is no place in Australia for their hateful ideologies.
The listing by Australia of the whole group, rather than just its military wing as at present, would bring Australia’s stance in line with the United States, the European Union and Britain.
Karen said she had written to Australia’s state and territory leaders to consult with them on listing the whole of Hamas, “and will finalise the listing as soon as possible”.
Reacting to this, Hazem Qassem, Hamas’ spokesperson, condemned the decision as biased in favour of Israel.
“The occupation, which deliberately targets Palestinians everywhere, and violates international and humanitarian laws, is the party that must be classified as a terrorist entity,” Qasem said.
“I welcome the news that Australia will list Hamas as a terrorist organization in its entirety,” welcoming the news, Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett said in a statement.
Currently, the military wing of Hamas, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, is on Australia’s list of terrorist organisations.
