After UK blacklist, Israel pushes for international Hamas, Hezbollah bans
Israeli diplomacy efforts are heating up with European Union members and other countries to see Hamas and Hezbollah blacklisted completely.
A member of Hamas opened fire Nov. 21 in the alleyways of Jerusalem’s Old City, killing Israeli national Eliyahu David Kay and wounding four others, two of them seriously. Reports referred to the gunman Sheikh Fadi Abu Shkhaydam as a “senior Hamas official in Jerusalem.”
Two days earlier, on Nov. 19, Israeli leadership praised the United Kingdom’s planned move to designate the entirety of Hamas as a terrorist organization.
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid published Nov. 19 a lengthy post on Twitter: "I thank Home Secretary Priti Patel, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and the entire British government for their decision to recognize all arms of the Hamas terrorist organization as terrorist organization. This is an important and significant decision that gives UK security forces additional tools to prevent the continued strengthening of the Hamas terrorist organization, including in Britain itself. There is no legitimate part of a terrorist organization, and any attempt to differentiate between parts of a terrorist organization is artificial."
Defense Minister Benny Gantz tweeted, "I welcome the British government’s upcoming move to designate Hamas in its entirety as a terrorist organization — including its political wing. This sends a strong message of zero tolerance toward terrorist activities aimed at harming the State of Israel and Jewish communities."
