Australia To Include Hamas In Terror List
Canberra, Feb 17: The Australian government intends to classify the Palestinian Hamas movement as a terrorist organization and has already put several radical groups including the US far-right nationalist movement, National Socialist Order, in its terrorist list, Australian Minister of Home Affairs Karen Andrews announced on Thursday.
“The Morrison Government has today listed Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, Hurras al-Din [both banned in Russia] and the National Socialist Order as terrorist organisations under the Criminal Code and intends to list the entirety of Hamas,” a Home Affairs Ministry statement read.
According to a statement, eight new organizations will be considered terrorists. Under the Australian criminal code, engaging in terrorist organizations’ activities is subject to 25 years imprisonment. The statement added that the Australian government intends to include the entire Hamas movement on the list as well, as previously only armed formations of the groups have been designated as terrorists.
“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,” Andrews said.
She added that the Australian government “has zero tolerance” for violent extremism and terrorism, stressing that it is crucial that laws target not only terrorist acts and terrorists, but also “the organizations that plan, finance and carry out these acts.”
The new list will also include the US-based National Socialist Order that advocates violence as means of unleashing a global “race war” and “accelerate the collapse of democratic societies,” the statement added.
The actual list currently includes 28 terrorist organizations. Today’s announcement comes on the heels of inclusion of the entire Lebanese Hezbollah movement on the terrorist organization list announced last December.
