Yesterday, it was reported by the Daily Telegraph that British lawyers, acting on behalf of Hamas, were threatening to bring a legal challenge under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to end the group’s proscription under terrorism legislation. They claim that the ban on supporting or assisting Hamas breaches human rights to freedom of speech, as well as the right of Hamas supporters to protest.
At first glance this seems remarkable. The military wing of Hamas was proscribed under the Terrorism Act 2000 in March 2001. The entire movement was subsequently banned by then Home Secretary, Priti Patel, in 2021. The Home Office states that Hamas is a militant Islamist movement, with an ideology associated with the Muslim Brotherhood, which aims to establish an Islamic state under sharia law in the Holy Land. In its note on why the group was banned, the Home Office says that ‘the approach of distinguishing between the various parts of Hamas is artificial.
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