(TJV NEWS) A British law firm is mounting a legal challenge against the UK government’s designation of Hamas as a terrorist organization, arguing the group is instead a legitimate “resistance movement” and that its proscription violates human rights.

The challenge, led by solicitor Fahad Ansari of Riverway Law, argues that the UK’s classification of Hamas is a breach of the European Convention on Human Rights, particularly with regard to freedom of expression and association. The case, branded by its backers as The Hamas Case, aims to force the UK government to remove Hamas from its list of banned terror groups.

Hamas’s military wing was first proscribed by the UK in 2001. In 2021, the Home Office, under then-Home Secretary Priti Patel, moved to designate the entire organization as a terrorist group, citing the impossibility of distinguishing between its political and military branches. Under British law, supporting or expressing sympathy for a proscribed group is a criminal offense.

According to The Times of London, the legal challenge includes submissions of internal Hamas documents such as The Hamas Manifesto, A Document of General Principles, and The Hamas Struggle, arguing these show Hamas is not a terrorist entity but rather “an organised resistance movement that exercises the right of the Palestinian people to resist Zionism and the colonisation, occupation, apartheid and genocide carried out in its name.”

The legal petition goes further, attempting to place the proscription within the wider context of British foreign policy. It asserts:

“For more than a century, the British State has been responsible for colonisation, ethnic cleansing and apartheid in Palestine… The continued proscription of Hamas means support for – and complicity in – the unrelenting colonisation of Palestine and crimes against humanity and acts of genocide being perpetrated by the Zionist State.”

The filing contends that this stance places the UK in violation of international law and that de-listing Hamas is necessary to rectify this “ongoing illegality.”

The lawyers, who according to The Times are not being paid by Hamas due to UK terror financing laws, claim the ban is also disproportionate, since Hamas does not pose a direct threat to the UK.

The case has provoked strong reactions from British politicians. Priti Patel, who spearheaded the 2021 proscription, responded via social media:

“Hamas are an evil Iranian-backed terrorist organisation, which kidnaps, tortures and murders people, including British nationals. They show no respect for human rights, life and dignity and have oppressed people living in Gaza for too long. Those campaigning to end the proscription of Hamas fail to understand the seriousness of the threats this terrorist organisation pose to our country.”

Robert Jenrick, former immigration minister and a prominent Conservative figure, also condemned the challenge. As reported by Breitbart News and the Law Gazette, he stated:

“Just over a year ago Hamas killed the largest number of Jewish people since the Holocaust… Yet a UK law firm thinks there are arguments for their ban to be lifted. Sickening. It’s no surprise this firm specialises in immigration cases.”

As noted by Breitbart News, the proscription of Hamas remains a key element in the UK’s counterterrorism strategy. The group is also designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, and Israel.

The legal proceedings are ongoing and could test the boundaries of how far freedom of speech and association extend under British and international law when it comes to supporting foreign groups implicated in terrorism.