London, Nov 19 (AP) The British government said Friday that it intends to ban the Palestinian militant group Hamas as a terrorist organisation.

The military wing of Hamas has been outlawed in the UK since 2001 but the organization as a whole is not proscribed.

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Home Secretary Priti Patel, who is in charge of law and order issues, said on Twitter that she had “acted to proscribe Hamas in its entirety.”

She said the group “has significant terrorist capability, including access to extensive and sophisticated weaponry, as well as terrorist training facilities.”

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Foreign Secretary Liz Truss tweeted that “Hamas will be proscribed as a terrorist organisation,” saying the move “will help tackle the scourge of antisemitism.”

A ban, which must be approved by Parliament, would make it illegal in Britain to be a member of Hamas or to express support for the group.

Hamas, a Palestinian group that opposes Israel's existence, has governed the Gaza Strip since taking over the area in 2007, a year after it won a Palestinian election.

Hamas is considered a terrorist group by Israel, the U.S. and the European Union. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)