British Home Secretary Priti Patel announced today, Friday, that Hamas Movement was 'outlawed'; a move consistent with the US and EU's stance from the Movement.

Patel said, "Hamas has the significant terrorist capability, including access to extensive and sophisticated weaponry, as well as terrorist training facilities," adding, "That is why today I have acted to proscribe Hamas in its entirety."

“We’ve taken the view that we can no longer disaggregate the sort of military and political side. It’s based upon a wide range of intelligence, information and also links to terrorism. The severity of that speaks for itself,” the Secretary added.

Today I have taken action to proscribe Hamas in its entirety.

This government is committed to tackling extremism and terrorism wherever it occurs. pic.twitter.com/TQfPzomyIm

— Priti Patel (@pritipatel) November 19, 2021

Until now, only Hamas' military wing was banned in the United Kingdom, while the Movement is blacklisted in the United States and the European Union.

If Britain adopts this designation after next week's scheduled debate in Parliament, membership in Hamas or the promotion of the Movement will be punishable with imprisonment of up to 14 years, under the provisions of the British "Anti-Terrorism Act", according to the Ministry of the Interior.

The Interior Minister said, in statements on the sidelines of a visit to Washington, "We can no longer separate the military and political wings" of the Movement. 

Hamas: The decision to ban the Movement’s activities is biased towards “Israel”

In its turn, the Hamas Movement regretted London declaring it a "terrorist organization" and threatening its supporters with imprisonment, saying that by doing so, Britain is continuing its old despot.

The Movement added that instead of London apologizing and correcting its historical mistakes against the Palestinian people, whether in the ominous Balfour Declaration or the British Mandate, which handed over Palestinian land to the Zionist movement, it continues to support the aggressors at the expense of the victims.

It added that "resisting the occupation, by all possible means, including armed resistance, is a right guaranteed to the peoples under occupation as per international law. Occupation is terrorism." 

The Hamas Movement stressed that placing more than two million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip under siege, most of whom are children, for more than 15 years, is what should be labeled as terrorism. The Movement added that the Israeli acts are war crimes and crimes against humanity, "as described by many international organizations and human rights institutions." 

The Movement called on the international community, led by Britain, to "stop this duplicity and flagrant violation of international law, which they claim to protect and abide by." 

It also called on all the forces and factions of Palestinians, as well as Palestinian supporters, particularly in Britain and Europe in general, to condemn this decision and consider it a continuation of the aggression against the Palestinian people and their inalienable rights.