After months of delay, British Government finally face Hamas in court

Hamas’ appeal against the British government’s decision to maintain its proscription of the movement is set to begin at the Proscribed Organisations Appeal Commission (POAC) on Thursday 26th March 2026, following more than seven months of unexplained delay. Dr Mousa Abu Marzouk, the head of Hamas’ International Relations and Legal Office in the Political Bureau, is expected to appear at the hearing by video-link.

Despite the appeal being lodged over half a year ago, there has been little to no meaningful progress. The present directions hearing has been listed at Hamas’ request in an effort to compel movement in a process that has been marked by inertia and a lack of transparency. 

In contrast, the current Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has sought to strike out the appeal altogether, despite failing to advance a single substantive reason to justify such an extraordinary procedural step. This raises serious concerns as to whether the government is seeking to avoid scrutiny of a decision that is increasingly difficult to defend on legal grounds. 

In 2021, then Home Secretary Priti Patel controversially extended Britain’s proscription of Hamas to include its political wing, its military wing having already been banned in 2001. The decision has been criticised for delaying humanitarian aid, obstructing political engagement, and effectively criminalising a political movement that won the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections. 

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In April 2025, Hamas applied under section 4 of the Act for full deproscription. The application was supported by the witness testimony of 20 experts, including the Jewish-Israeli Oxford University historian Avi Shlaim, and the former ad hoc judge of the ICJ, Professor John Dugard SC. 

Frank Magennis, counsel for Hamas, stated: “The Home Office’s decision only makes sense when viewed in the context of more than a century of British Government support for the racist ideology of Zionism, stretching back before the Balfour Declaration of 1917. The British state remains in a deep-rooted alliance with the apartheid state of Israel, and is using the pretext of demonising Hamas to justify its military participation in the Zionist genocide of Palestinians. While political actors posture about the future of Gaza, Hamas continues to resist occupation both on the ground and through lawful process in the courts.” 

The appeal under section 5 challenges the legality of the Home Secretary’s decision to maintain the proscription, arguing that it is biased, legally flawed, and politically driven. It further contends that Hamas poses no threat to British national security, has never conducted operations outside of historic Palestine, and that the decision reflects a rigid adherence to government longstanding and inflexible policy of support for Zionism. 

The proceedings on Thursday are expected to address both the unexplained delay in progressing the appeal and the Home Secretary’s attempt to avoid judicial scrutiny of her decision making.

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