Australia lists all of Hamas as a terrorist group

Australia, on Friday, listed the entire Palestinian Islamist group, Hamas, as a terrorist organization, calling the move a deterrent to political and religious violence and bringing Australia in line with the United States, the European Union and Britain, Reuters reports.

Australia had for two decades proscribed Hamas’s paramilitary wing, the Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, as a terrorist organization, but flagged last month that it wanted to upgrade the listing to the whole organisation, a process that involved consulting Australia’s state and territory leaders.

The change puts Australia into lockstep with its allies, which have also been moving to tighten their opposition to the Gaza ruling body, citing its access to sophisticated weaponry and terrorist training facilities.

“The hateful ideologies of terrorist groups and those who support them have no place in Australia,” Home Affairs Minister, Karen Andrews, said in a statement.

“Our strong laws target not only terrorist acts and terrorists, but also the organizations that plan, finance and carry out these abhorrent acts,” she added.

Listing organizations was a deterrent to violent extremism and sent a message that Australia condemned the use of violence to achieve political, religious or ideological aims, she added.