Hamas are not terrorists, UK Foreign Office staff taught in seminar

The United Kingdom’s Foreign Office held a seminar where it taught staff that Hamas was not a terrorist organization and that Israel was a “White, settler colonialist state,” an investigation published by the Jewish Chronicle on Tuesday found.

The seminar was led by Professor Jeroen Gunning from King’s College London last Wednesday and organized by the Foreign Office’s top Middle East research analyst, Martin Hetherington, according to the report. 

The lesson was delivered to approximately 100 civil servants and British diplomatic service staff.

Gunning reportedly told attendees that there could be “no future without Hamas.” 

Other speakers reportedly told the staff that it was “unhelpful” to consider Hamas a terrorist organization and that the political wing of the terror organization was “moderate.”

The October 7 massacre

Speaker Dr Tristan Dunning, from the University of Queensland, claimed that Hamas’s October 7 attack should be seen as “resistance” to Israeli “occupation,” the JC reported. 

On October 7, Hamas invaded Israel where they murdered over 1,200 people and kidnapped over 250 more. Significant evidence, verified by the United Nations, also proved that Hamas committed acts of rape and sexual violence during its massacre.

On the topic of hostages, one of the speakers reportedly claimed that Palestinian security prisoners were hostages as well.

Three speakers at the event had previously submitted a paper to the House of Commons where they claimed Israel was partially responsible for October 7.

UK Foreign Office comments on the seminar

A Foreign Office spokesman vowed to the JC to “review guidance on internal seminars to ensure speakers invited are appropriate.”

Another Foreign Office spokesman told the source that “The UK Government’s position is unequivocal that Hamas is a terrorist organization. Many of the views expressed by the academics in the seminar were wrong and contrary to the government’s position.

“We have a zero-tolerance approach to any form of discrimination, including antisemitism. We are reviewing guidance on internal seminars to ensure speakers invited are appropriate.”