(Bury South) (Lab): On
a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I provided advance notice
of it to Mr Speaker earlier.
A few days ago, The Sunday Times reported on its front page that
a “Hamas fugitive” who
“‘ran the group’s terrorist operations in the West Bank’”
lives here in London. Muhammad Qassem Sawalha is designated by
Israel as a senior Hamas operative in Europe and accused of
fleeing the country with fake documents. He is now believed to
hold UK citizenship. Zaher Birawi lives in Barnet not far from
Sawalha. He was designated by Israel in 2013 as a senior Hamas
operative in Europe. He is listed as a trustee of a UK registered
charity, Education Aid for Palestinians. A publicly available
video shows him hosting a 2019 event in London titled
“Understanding Hamas”.
Two weeks ago, Hamas launched the deadliest terror attack the
world has seen since 9/11. This House rightly voted to proscribe
Hamas in its entirety in November 2021. It is therefore a serious
national security risk for Hamas operatives to be living here in
London, especially where at least one appears to have done so
through the use of fake documents in obtaining British
citizenship. Madam Deputy Speaker, can you advise me on how I
might raise this with the Government as a matter of great urgency
and ask if you have had any indication of a Minister seeking to
come to the House to provide an urgent update on this matter?
Madam Deputy Speaker: I thank the hon. Gentleman for notice of
his point of order. I hope that he will understand that I cannot
comment on individual cases. I have had no notice of a statement,
but he has put the issue on the record and those on the
Government Benches will have heard his point.
