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World Affairs
Mahesh

22/11/23 11:15 AM IST

Hamas as a ‘terrorist’ organisation

In News
  • Israel designated Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) as a terror organisation, calling it a “deadly and reprehensible terror organization, responsible for the murder of hundreds of Indian civilians as well as others.”
Other countries which designate Hamas Terrorist Organization
  • Apart from Israel, the following six countries, along with the European Union (EU), consider Hamas a terrorist organisation.
  • The EU first listed Hamas as a terrorist organisation in 2001 as part of its response against terrorism after the attacks of September 11, 2001, in the US.
  • Since 2001, Australia has listed Hamas in its entirety as a terrorist entity for financial sanctions. The military wing of Hamas, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, was first listed as a terrorist organisation by Australia in 2003. In 2022, it listed Hamas as a terrorist organisation under its Criminal Code.
  • The Canadian government describes Hamas as a “radical Islamist-nationalist terrorist organization”. It was first listed as such in 2002.
  • Initially, the UK government proscribed Hamas’s military wing in 2001. But this was extended to all of Hamas in 2021.
  • In 2019, Paraguay became the first South American country to officially recognise Hamas as a terrorist organisation. It also designated al-Qaeda and ISIS on the same day.
  • The Department of State of the United States government designated Hamas and two other Palestinian groups, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), as Foreign Terrorist Organizations in October 1997.
  • These groups were also listed as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) in October 2001.
Significance
  • A government designates a terrorist organisation under specific national laws, such as Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 1952 in the US (which allows the Secretary of State to designate Foreign Terrorist Organisations (FTOs), the Terrorism Act, 2000, in the UK, or the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, in India.
  • Designation is done based on specific criteria and can attract a range of curbs, including the freezing of assets and the takeover of the properties of the designated organisation.
  • India amended the UAPA in August 2019 to include a provision for designating an individual as a terrorist; before that only organisations could be designated. Currently, 44 organisations are designated as terrorist organisations under the First Schedule of the UAPA.
Source- Indian Express

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