Australia says it will list Hamas as ‘terrorist’ group | Al Jazeera

The Australian government has said it planned to list the whole of the Palestinian movement Hamas to its list of outlawed “terrorist” organizations.

There was no immediate reaction on Thursday by Hamas, which has been running the besieged Gaza 

Australia had previously listed Hamas’s al-Qassam Brigades military wing as a “terror” group in 2003, but the new designation which will come into force in April, will list the organization in its entirety, including its political wing.

Hamas has fought successive wars with Israel since 2007. The latest 11-day Israeli assault on Gaza in May last year killed at least 248 Palestinians, including 66 children, and wounded more than 1,900 others. Rocket fire from Gaza also killed at least 12 people in Israel, including two children.

“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,” said Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews.

The designation will place restrictions on financing or providing other support to Hamas – with certain offences carrying a 25-year prison sentence.