Why now?

  • India and Israel cooperate on counter-terrorism, and the attack on the Chabad House Jewish centre and the heroic rescue of Baby Moshe by his Indian nanny during 26/11 did strike a special chord with Israel — however, the designation of the LeT at this juncture is being seen as a nudge to India to do the same with Hamas.
  • This is important for Israel as it seeks to rally international support for its campaign in Gaza, which is being judged increasingly harshly for the death and suffering of Palestinian civilians, including a very large number of children.
  • Only a handful of jurisdictions in the world currently designate Hamas as a terrorist organisation.
  • India did initially describe the Hamas raids in southern Israel as a “terrorist attack”, but has since spoken of the need for a two-state solution to the wider Israel-Palestine conflict.
  • The Israeli Embassy said on November 21 that it had not been requested by India to designate the LeT. However, Israel’s Ambassador to India, Naor Gilon, has previously sought the declaration of Hamas as a "terrorist organisation in India”.

Which countries currently designate Hamas as a terrorist organisation?

European Union:

  • 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.
  • The decision was annulled in 2014, The Guardian This was on procedural grounds, on the lack of sufficient evidence to maintain asset freezes and travel bans against Hamas.
  • The designation was reinstated, and an EU court rejected Hamas’s appeal to de-list it in 2019.

Australia:

  • 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.

Canada:

  • The Canadian government describes Hamas as a “radical Islamist-nationalist terrorist organization”. It was first listed as such in 2002.

United Kingdom:

  • Initially, the UK government proscribed Hamas’s military wing in 2001. But this was extended to all of Hamas in 2021.

Japan:

  • Following the Hamas attacks of October 7, Japanese Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko said: “While Japan does not have a legal system for legally designating terrorist organisations, we have, under the Cabinet Understanding of September 30, 2003, designated Hamas as subject to Japan’s asset freezing for terrorists and others, among other measures.”

Paraguay:

  • 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.

United States:

  • 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.

What does designation as a terrorist organisation entail?

  • 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.
Conclusion- 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. Syllabus- GS-2; International Relations; GS-3; Security