Hamas seeks to overturn Australia's designation of the group as a terrorist organization

Hamas has taken legal steps to reverse Australia’s decision to designate the entire group as a terrorist organization, according to media reports.

Australia first designated Hamas’ military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, as a terrorist organization in November 2003, while its political wing was excluded and continued to operate and raise funds for the group.

In February 2022, Australia designated both Hamas’ military and political wings as terrorist entities. At the time, then-Prime Minister of Israel Naftali Bennett welcomed the decision. “Thank you to my friend @ScottMorrisonMP for following through on our dialogue on this important matter. This is another important step in the global fight against terrorism,” Bennett wrote on 𝕏.

Hamas has now asked Australia’s Federal Court to overturn the designation or, at a minimum, remove its political wing from the list. The group argues that its political wing is engaged in providing education, healthcare, water and other civilian services in the Gaza Strip and has rejected responsibility for the Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel.

Hamas has for years used humanitarian organizations as fronts for money laundering and illicit terrorist funding.

The Australian government has so far rejected Hamas’ claims, emphasizing that the group’s military wing is inseparable from its wider political infrastructure.

Under Australian law, the designation makes it illegal to raise funds for Hamas or provide other forms of support to the organization, with some offenses reportedly carrying prison sentences of up to 25 years.

Zionist Federation of Australia President Jeremy Leibler condemned Hamas’ legal attempts to have the designation revoked.

“Hamas can engage as many lawyers as it likes, but no amount of legal argument can erase the atrocities of Oct. 7,” Leibler said in an interview with the Herald Sun.

Alex Ryvchin, co-chief of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) echoed similar sentiments and warned of the growing antisemitism and hostility in Australia towards Israel.

“Not satisfied with vilifying Israelis and Jewish Australians, they now seek to defend Hamas in the courts,” he said. “The effect of this would be to allow Australians to donate money to Hamas and publicly support it,” he warned. “While there is no prospect of this action succeeding, the very fact that any Australian lawyers would seek to bring this action denigrates the profession and shows the malice and fanaticism running through the anti-Israel movement.”

Antisemitic incidents have risen in Australia since the Hamas attack in 2023, including the December 2025 Bondi Beach terror attack, in which two Islamist terrorists murdered 15 Jews attending a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney.