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New York Post
2 days ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Hamas names ‘Ghost of al-Qassam' as its new leader after Israel wiped out his two predecessors: report
Hamas has reportedly named a veteran terrorist known as the 'Ghost of al-Qassam' as its latest leader in Gaza — after his two predecessors were wiped out by Israel. Ezzedin al-Haddad, who helped plan the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks, was recently handed control of Hamas' Gaza operations, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing multiple sources. He is the group's third leader in just seven months after Israeli eliminated his two predecessors — Oct. 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar and then last month his brother Mohammed Sinwar who took the reins after him. Advertisement 3 Ezzedin al-Haddad, the commander of the northern Gaza brigade, and alleged replacement for Hamas military leader. Haddad, 55, previously oversaw the captivity of Israeli hostages and recruitment for Hamas' fighters. He got his nickname as the 'ghost' of the group's militant wing because of his low profile, according to the sources. Haddad, too, has survived multiple Israeli assassination attempts throughout the war, they added. Advertisement 3 Yahya Sinwar, head of the Palestinian Islamic movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip. He was killed in Gaza. SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images His appointment comes just weeks after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Mohammed Sinwar's death in an airstrike. His body was only retrieved from an underground tunnel beneath a hospital in southern Gaza earlier this week, the Israeli military said. 'Mohammad Sinwar was responsible for the deaths of countless civilians,' the IDF wrote on X. Advertisement 'He died the way he lived — underground.' 3 Palestinians (rear) stand behind armed fighters from Hamas' Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades during the handover of three Israeli hostages to Red Cross representatives in Al Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip in February 2025. MOHAMMED SABER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Mohammed had been the terror group's defacto leader ever since his older brother — who masterminded the Oct. 7 bloodshed — was killed in a routine raid late last year. Haddad, who has a $750,000 bounty on his head, is next on Israel's target list, according to to Defense Minister Israel Katz.
Arab News
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Hamas urges UK govt to overturn terror designation
LONDON: Hamas has submitted a legal filing in Britain demanding it be removed from the government's list of proscribed terror groups. The organization is arguing that it is a 'Palestinian Islamic liberation and resistance movement whose goal is to liberate Palestine and confront the Zionist project,' and not a terrorist group. The claim includes a witness statement by Mousa Abu Marzouk, Hamas's head of international relations and the applicant for the filing. It was submitted to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper. Abu Marzouk's statement said: 'The British government's decision to proscribe Hamas is an unjust one that is symptomatic of its unwavering support for Zionism, apartheid, occupation and ethnic cleansing in Palestine for over a century. 'Hamas does not and never has posed a threat to Britain, despite the latter's ongoing complicity in the genocide of our people.' The UK proscribed Hamas's military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, in 2001, and added its political wing to the list of terror organizations in 2021. At the time, the government described the distinction between the two wings as 'artificial' and said Hamas was a 'complex but single terrorist organization.' Support for proscribed organizations is a criminal offense in Britain. Hamas's legal team at Riverway Law, which is representing the organization pro brono because it is illegal to receive funds from proscribed groups, sent a document to Drop Site News summarizing its arguments. The team said: 'Hamas does not deny that its actions fall within the wide definition of 'terrorism' under the Terrorism Act 2000. 'Instead, it notes that the definition also covers all groups and organizations around the world that use violence to achieve political objectives, including the Israeli armed forces, the Ukrainian army and indeed the British armed forces.' The team added: 'Rather than allow freedom of speech, police have embarked on a campaign of political intimidation and persecution of journalists, academics, peace activists and students over their perceived support for Hamas. 'People in Britain must be free to speak about Hamas and its struggle to restore to the Palestinian people the right to self-determination.' Hamas is the 'only effective military force resisting' Israel's illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories, the team said, highlighting Britain's obligations under international law to prevent genocide and crimes against humanity. The proscription is also disproportionate as Hamas 'does not pose any threat to Britain or British citizens,' the team added. Hamas's presence on the list of terrorist organizations is hindering its ability to broker a political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the lawyers said. Riverway Law's director, Fahad Ansari, is leading the legal challenge. He is being helped by Daniel Grutters, a barrister at One Pump Court Chambers, and Franck Magennis, a barrister at Garden Court Chambers. In December 2020, Magennis said: 'Zionism is a kind of racism. It is essentially colonial. It has manifested in an apartheid regime calling itself 'the Jewish state' that dominates non-Jews, and particularly Palestinians.' The Home Office said it does not comment on proscription cases. Deproscription is rare in the UK, with just four groups having been removed from the list of terrorist organizations. Grutters represented pro-Palestinian students who set up a camp at the London School of Economics last May, the Daily Telegraph reported. The students were barred by the university through a court order. Cooper said the government will reject Hamas's appeal, and 'maintains its view' that the group is a 'barbaric terrorist organization.' Priti Patel, the former home secretary who expanded Hamas's proscription on the terror list in 2021, said the 'evil' group still poses an 'ongoing threat' to British national security. 'Those campaigning to end the proscription of Hamas fail to understand the seriousness of the threats and danger this terrorist organization poses,' she added.
The Guardian
10-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
France could recognise Palestinian state ‘in June', says Emmanuel Macron – Middle East crisis live
Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature France could recognise Palestinian state 'in June': Macron Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature France plans to recognise a Palestinian state within months and could make the move at a UN conference in New York in June on settling the Israel-Palestinian conflict, president Emmanuel Macron said in an interview broadcast on Wednesday. 'We must move towards recognition, and we will do so in the coming months,' Macron, who this week visited Egypt, told France 5 television, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP). 'Our aim is to chair this conference with Saudi Arabia in June, where we could finalise this movement of mutual recognition by several parties,' he added. He said: I will do it because I believe that at some point it will be right and because I also want to participate in a collective dynamic, which must also allow all those who defend Palestine to recognise Israel in turn, which many of them do not do.' Such recognition would allow France 'to be clear in our fight against those who deny Israel's right to exist – which is the case with Iran – and to commit ourselves to collective security in the region,' he added. France has long championed a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, including after the 7 October 2023 attack by Palestinian militants Hamas on Israel. But formal recognition by Paris of a Palestinian state would mark a major policy switch and risk antagonising Israel which insists such moves by foreign states are premature. More on that story in a moment, but first here are some other Middle East related developments: At least 23 people have been killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit a residential building in northern Gaza , as reports emerged that the Israeli military is preparing to seize the entire city of Rafah as part of a newly announced security corridor. Medics at al-Ahli hospital said that the bombing on Wednesday of a four-storey building in the Gaza City suburb of Shijaiyah had killed at least eight women and children, as rescue workers continued to search for survivors into the evening. The Israeli military said the strike targeted a senior Hamas militant. The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas has submitted a legal filing saying it should be removed from the UK government's list of proscribed terrorist groups. Hamas is arguing that it is not a terrorist group but 'a Palestinian Islamic liberation and resistance movement whose goal is to liberate Palestine and confront the Zionist project'. Saudi Arabia's top diplomat held talks in Washington on Wednesday, laying the groundwork for a visit by US President Donald Trump, which would be the first foreign trip of his second term. Foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan met US secretary of state Marco Rubio at the state department, and the two called on the Sudanese army and paramilitary forces to resume peace talks. Suspected US airstrikes in Yemen overnight into Thursday killed at least three people, while the death toll in an earlier attack rose to 13 dead, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels said. The rebels meanwhile aired footage they said showed the debris left after shooting down yet another American MQ-9 Reaper drone. Share
The Guardian
09-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Hamas calls on the UK government to remove it from list of banned terrorist groups
The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas has submitted a legal filing saying that it should be removed from the UK government's list of proscribed terrorist groups. Hamas, which carried out the 7 October 2023 attacks on southern Israel, in which more than 1,200 people, mainly civilians, were killed and a further 250 taken hostage, is arguing that it is not a terrorist group but 'a Palestinian Islamic liberation and resistance movement whose goal is to liberate Palestine and confront the Zionist project'. The assertion is contained in a witness statement by Mousa Abu Marzouk, head of international relations for Hamas and the applicant for the claim to the UK home secretary, Yvette Cooper, published by Drop Site News. His statement continues: 'The British government's decision to proscribe Hamas is an unjust one that is symptomatic of its unwavering support for Zionism, apartheid, occupation and ethnic cleansing in Palestine for over a century. Hamas does not and never has posed a threat to Britain, despite the latter's ongoing complicity in the genocide of our people.' The Home Office said it does not comment on proscription matters. Hamas's military wing, Hamas IDQ, was proscribed by the UK in 2001. In 2021, its political wing which runs Gaza, was also proscribed, with the UK government describing the distinction between the two wings as 'artificial' and labelling Hamas 'a complex but single terrorist organisation'. If an organisation is proscribed as a terrorist organisation it is a criminal offence to, among other things, belong to it, show or express support for it, and wear clothing or carry or display articles in public which would arouse reasonable suspicion that the individual is a member or supporter of it. In a document provided to Drop Site summarising its legal arguments, Hamas's legal team reportedly said it represents the group pro bono because it would be illegal to accept payment under British law. It quotes the lawyers as saying: 'Hamas does not deny that its actions fall within the wide definition of 'terrorism' under the Terrorism Act 2000. Instead, it notes that the definition also covers all groups and organisations around the world that use violence to achieve political objectives, including the Israeli armed forces, the Ukrainian army and indeed the British armed forces.' Terrorism is defined in the act as the use of or threat of action, including serious violence against a person or damage to property, where it is 'designed to influence the government or an international governmental organisation or to intimidate the public or a section of the public, and must be undertaken for the purpose of advancing a political, religious, racial or ideological cause'. Hamas is represented by Riverway Law. The lawyers state: 'Rather than allow freedom of speech, police have embarked on a campaign of political intimidation and persecution of journalists, academics, peace activists and students over their perceived support for Hamas. People in Britain must be free to speak about Hamas and its struggle to restore to the Palestinian people the right to self-determination.' They also argue proscription is contrary to Britain's obligations under international law to prevent genocide and crimes against humanity, and end Israel's illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories. It says Hamas is the 'only effective military force resisting' such acts. Priti Patel, the shadow foreign secretary, said: 'Hamas is an evil Iranian-backed terrorist organisation, which kidnaps, tortures and murders people, including British nationals. They pose an ongoing threat to our security and to the peace and stability of the Middle East and they have weapons and training facilities that put lives at risk and threaten our interests. They show no respect for human rights, life and dignity and have oppressed people living in Gaza for too long.'
