Hamas in Britain: How alleged terror operatives made the UK their home - explainer

On November 13, it was revealed that Mohammed Al-Fatah, the former bodyguard of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, was granted British asylum and citizenship.The news came to light after a British court convicted Al-Fatah of unlawfully wounding a bailiff, possessing knives, and criminal damage.But Al-Fatah is far from the only individual with alleged or documented Hamas ties to have made Britain his home.The Jerusalem Post investigated multiple individuals, their connections to Hamas, and their immigration status, revealing a history of alleged Hamas activity in Britain that stretches back decades.Mohammed Al-FatahMohammed Al-Fatah, 40, also known as Mohammed Naim, is the son of senior Hamas official Bassem Naim and a former bodyguard of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.Hamas official Bassem Naim attends a news conference in Beirut, Lebanon November 8, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/MOHAMED AZAKIR)He was convicted last Friday at Birmingham Crown Court in the UK of wounding an enforcement officer and causing criminal damage.At the time of the attack, a British counterterrorism unit was already surveilling Al-Fatah. He had previously been arrested and released on bail on suspicion of an offense related to supporting Hamas.Al-Fatah is also wanted in Germany on suspicion of playing a central role in a Hamas plot to carry out terrorist attacks against Israelis and Jews in Europe around the second anniversary of the October 7 attack.Al-Fatah was born in Germany and raised in the Gaza Strip. He arrived in the UK in 2014, was granted political asylum in 2015, and became a British citizen in 2020.Al-Fatah is partially named in a separate indictment in Germany issued in September. Referred to in German court documents as "Mohammed A.," he is said to have played a prominent role in the Hamas network and had connections to the organization's leadership.One of the most serious allegations is that Al-Fatah had recorded a video in advance claiming responsibility on behalf of Hamas for the planned attack, even before it had taken place.Despite this, the UK judge instructed jurors to consider Al-Fatah a person of previous good character because he had no prior criminal convictions in Britain.He is said to have been living in Birmingham with his wife and children.Muhammad Qassem SawalhaAnother known Hamas member who lives in the UK is Muhammad Sawalha (also known as Abu Obada).According to a 2019 Israeli government report, Sawalha, born in 1961 in Tubas, served as a senior Hamas military official in the West Bank in the late 1980s, around the time of Hamas’ founding.Sawalha then fled the West Bank to Jordan using forged identity documents in October 1990, before continuing to Britain, where he has been residing since.Despite leaving the region, Sawalha continued to be active in Hamas.An August 20, 2004, US Department of Justice press release named Sawalha as a co-conspirator in a federal indictment involving Hamas financing and terrorist operations.According to the filing, Sawalha met senior Hamas figures Muhammad Salah and Mousa Abu Marzook in August 1992 to discuss reviving terrorist operations in the West Bank, identifying operatives who could participate in the effort.In January 1993, Sawalha allegedly met Salah in London and instructed him to provide funds to Hamas members in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.According to an Israeli intelligence report, Sawalha continued to be active in Hamas for at least the next two decades, serving as a member of Hamas’ Political Bureau between 2013 and 2017 while in London.During this time, he participated in two delegations of senior Hamas officials to Moscow (September 2017 and July 2019)Since being in the UK, Sawalha founded the Muslim Association of the UK (MAB) and subsequently the British Muslim Initiative (BMI). He was also a key figure in planning the Mavi Marmara flotilla in 2010, and in 2013 was declared by Israel’s Defense Minister as an operative of an illegal association due to his ties to Hamas.In 2013, the Sunday Times ran a front-page investigation revealing that Sawalha lived in north London, had obtained British citizenship, and had purchased a former council property in Colindale at a substantial discount.According to the Times, the father of four received a £112,300 discount on the £320,700 home from Barnet Council, despite being informed in 2020 by the UK Lawyers for Israel campaign group about his background.Zaher BirawiJust a few miles away from Sawalha's London residence can be found another alleged Hamas operative: Zaher Birawi.Barnet resident Birawi has been active in Palestinian political and advocacy organizations in Britain, including the Palestine Forum in Britain and initiatives organizing flotillas to Gaza.Israeli government publications identify him as a Hamas-linked activist based in Britain, for which he is designated.In October 2023, Labour MP Christian Wakeford named Birawi in Parliament as an alleged Hamas operative living in north London.Birawi was also officially sanctioned by the US in January 2026 due to his role in assisting and supporting a group with ties to Hamas.Both Birawi and the organization he founded, now serving as its general secretary, the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA), are designated by the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). OFAC sanctioned the PCPA for being owned, directed by, or having acted on behalf of Hamas. Birawi himself was sanctioned for supporting the PCPA.On November 19, 2021, Birawi told Hamas’s Al-Aqsa TV that “Palestine has the right to resist Zionist occupation” and “Hamas is the largest Palestinian political party that won the elections. Britain will soon be forced to apologize for its decision against Hamas.”It is important to state that Birawi himself has rejected allegations that he is a Hamas operative, and has referred to parliamentary accusations as baseless.Despite residing in London, the Post could not confirm whether Birawi has British nationality or refugee status.Another recent case is that of Mosab Abdulkarim al-Gassas, also known as Abu Wadee or Abu Wadei.Abu Wadei entered the media spotlight in March 2025 after footage surfaced of him arriving in Kent, UK on a migrant boat. He previously made unsuccessful asylum applications in Greece, Germany and Belgium.Abu Wadei was born in Khan Yunis and has pictures and videos on social media showing him posing with AK-47s and throwing pipe bombs. He is believed to have been a member of the Gazan “Tire-Burning Unit.”He pleaded guilty to trying to enter the UK on a small boat without leave or valid entry clearance, and served a nine-month sentence.However, in October 2026, it was reported that Abu Wadei was living in a taxpayer-funded asylum accommodation on Corby’s Lloyds estate with three other migrants. He is reportedly wearing an electronic tag.According to British media outlets, the Home Office wishes to deport him, but it has been struggling to do so due to the government’s asylum policy regarding returning individuals to active conflict zones.Wadei was recorded telling the Northamptonshire Telegraph he no longer supported Hamas.“That was back when I lived in Gaza under Hamas rule,” he said.“Everyone knows that Hamas is a terrorist organization that would kill us if we didn’t speak against the Jews while living there.”The Post cannot establish that he was a formal Hamas member.Majed Khalil Moussa al-ZeerA more documented case involves British-Jordanian citizen Majed al-Zeer, often referred to as "Hamas’s official representative in Germany."Al Zeer was born on December 8, 1962, near Bethlehem. According to the Amit Terrorism and Intelligence Research Institute, Al Zeer is a British citizen who moved to Germany in 2014.He previously headed the London-based Palestinian Return Centre - considered an important Hamas arm in Europe.On October 7, 2024 (the same day as the Birawi designation), the US Treasury sanctioned Al Zeer, citing his involvement in the PCPA."The PCPA operates at Hamas’s behest," it said. "Al-Zeer, who served as the Chairman and President of the PCPA, as well as other senior positions, plays a central role in Hamas’s fundraising efforts in Europe and was the senior Hamas representative in Germany."Al-Zeer was also previously documented with former Hamas political bureau head Isma’il Haniyeh and claimed that the October 7, 2023 attack and massacre had been “self-defense.”While the official US sanctions record documents a British passport issued in November 2022, it does not establish when or how citizenship was acquired.Palestine Forum in Britain's Ziad El Aloul and Adnan HmidanThe Palestinian Forum in Britain (PFB) is a UK-based organization that has faced scrutiny regarding its ties to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, as discussed previously in the Birawi section.Two of its prominent members have been linked to Hamas.The first is Ziad El Aloul, former PFB chairman, named by Labour MP Christian Wakeford alongside Sawalha, Birawi and al-Zeer as a British national with Hamas links.Adnan Hmidan has held senior positions in the Palestine Forum in Britain and been associated with the UK-based Al Arab in UK media.A Jerusalem Post investigation published in 2026 identified him as the founder of the Red Ribbons campaign, which advocates for Palestinian security prisoners.Britain's Independent Press Standards Organization found sufficient evidence for The Telegraph to describe Hmidan as pro-Hamas.In July 2026, Hmidan was among five people specifically named in a House of Lords question about potential financial sanctions against individuals residing in or operating from Britain who were allegedly linked to Hamas.Essam Yusuf Mustafa, also known as Essam MustafaA more disputed case involves Essam Yusuf Mustafa, also known as Essam Mustafa, a former prominent figure in Interpal, a British charity that US authorities designated in 2003 over alleged Hamas financing.As well as being one of the founding trustees of Interpal, Mustafa was formerly Secretary General of the Union of Good.In November 12, 2008, the US Treasury designated the Union of Good as a terrorist financing organization, accusing it of channeling money to Hamas.The statement specifically identified the Union of Good's secretary general, who was also vice chairman of the UK-based charity Interpal, as a member of Hamas's executive committee under Khaled Mashaal as of mid-2007.It did not identify that official by name, but contemporary sources identified Mustafa as the person holding those positions.Mustafa has denied ever serving on Hamas's executive committee or holding any other position in the organization.He is understood to live in Britain.Azzam al-TamimiAnother prominent Hamas supporter based in Britain is Palestinian-born academic Dr. Azzam al-Tamimi, who has acknowledged advising the terrorist organization and maintaining close ties with its leadership.In a 2006 interview with The Jerusalem Post, Tamimi revealed that he had participated in workshops concerning revisions to Hamas's founding charter and acknowledged his close relationship with senior Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal."I am someone who is closely associated with the movement. I don't have an official capacity, but I help as much as I can within the limits of the law," he told the Post at the time.He also said the workshops had involved Hamas leaders and experts discussing proposed charter changes in Beirut and Damascus.Tamimi, who has been identified as a British national and founded the London-based Al-Hiwar television channel, has denied being a Hamas member.In December 2008, the Israeli Embassy called him Hamas's de facto representative in London.His activities have attracted scrutiny in Britain since at least 2003, when Labour MP Louise Ellman accused him in Parliament of maintaining connections to the organization, allegations he disputed.In 2007, he published a book called Hamas: A History from Within. Much of the book is based on interviews with Hamas leaders or on participant observation among the movement's “rank and file,” according to the publisher. Tamimi was also described in the press as "close enough to Hamas to have been able to choose such a title for his book confidently."What British law saysBritain originally proscribed only Hamas's military wing in 2001. In November 2021, the government extended the prohibition to the whole organization, including its political wing.However, membership in a terrorist organization and eligibility for refugee protection are not the same legal question.Official UK asylum guidance states that terrorist group membership does not automatically establish exclusion from refugee status.