Hamas calls UK terror label unjust, claims no murder of civilians

A senior Hamas official told a UK court that the group stands for democracy and dialogue — not terrorism — despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

Senior Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk claimed that Hamas’ fundamental values include “pluralism” and “democracy,” in a sworn witness statement submitted to a UK court.

Abu Marzouk’s statement is part of a lawsuit filed by Hamas supporters in the UK, which aims to force the British government to rescind its classification of Hamas as a terrorist organization.

In an 11-page affidavit, Abu Marzouk claimed that Hamas “believes in and adheres to” numerous ethics, such as “acceptance of the other” and the “adoption of dialogue” to resolve political differences among the Palestinian people.

“Hamas is not a terrorist group. It is a Palestinian Islamic liberation and resistance movement whose goal is to liberate Palestine and confront the Zionist project,” wrote Abou Marzouk, the head of Hamas’ foreign relations office.

“The government’s decision to proscribe Hamas [as a terrorist organization] is an unjust one that is symptomatic of its unwavering support for Zionism, apartheid, occupation and ethnic cleansing in Palestine for over a century,” he added.

Abu Marzouk, who studied at Colorado State University in the United States, falsely claimed that Hamas did not intentionally murder civilians on October 7, 2023. Referring to the massacres as a military operation, Abu Marzouk said that “the instructions given to our elite forces – our Nukhba – were to kill and capture Zionist soldiers and not to target women, children and the elderly.”

That statement is demonstrably untrue, as Hamas terrorists extensively documented the murder, torture, and mutilation of civilians in communities adjacent to the Gaza Strip.

Ominously, Abu Marzouk added that “Hamas is committed to bold new solutions and resolutions to the struggle against Zionism, including options that seemed impossible prior to October 2023.”

The attorneys representing Hamas in the case held a different position than Abu Marzouk, admitting that the group’s actions indeed fall under the definition of “terrorism” according to UK law.

However, the lawyers charged that the IDF, Ukrainian army, and even the British army’s actions could also be categorized as terrorism under the UK standard.