Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, I present the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security report Review of the re-listing of Hamas’ Brigades, PKK, LeT and PIJ as terrorist organisations. I seek leave to move a motion in relation to the report and have the tabling statement incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

I move:

That the Senate take note of the report.

The statement read as follows—

PARLIAMENTARY JOINT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY

Review of the re-listing of Hamas’ Brigades, PKK, LeT and PIJ as terrorist organisations

Senator Gavin Marshall

CANBERRA         17 November 2009

Mr President, on behalf of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security I have pleasure in presenting the Committee’s report entitled Review of the re-listing of Hamas’ Brigades, PKK, LeT and PIJ as terrorist organisations

Hamas’ Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades (the Brigades)

The Brigades are the armed element of the military wing of Hamas. While the Brigades are an integral part of Hamas, they also operate independent of, and times at odds with, Hamas’ stated aims. Hamas, through the Brigades, seeks to destroy the state of Israel and establish an Islamist Palestinian state in the existing Gaza Strip, West Bank and Israel. It will not enter into peace talks with Israel and its leaders have stated Hamas cannot live with an Israeli state.

The statement of reasons lists numerous attacks against Israeli civilians.  The three most recent were:

• November 2008: the Brigades announced on its website it had fired a total of 43 Qassam rockets and a number of mortar shells at several Israeli civilian and       military targets;
• November 2008: five Grad rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip at the Israeli city of Ashqelon; and
• January 2009: numerous rockets fired into Israel.

In addition to the well known attacks against Israel the Brigades also carry out brutal suppression against the Palestinian people. For example, in August 2009 Hamas launched a devastating attack against a mosque in Rafah. The attack killed at least 22 Palestinians, including an 11-year-old girl.

The Committee does not recommend disallowance of the regulation in relation to Hamas’ Brigades.

PKK

Since 1995, the PKK has been involved in many terrorist attacks, including suicide bombing attacks, which have resulted in large numbers of civilian casualties. These terrorist attacks have been directed against not only Turkish security force, but also against civilian and foreign targets.

During the course of its review the Committee became aware of some moves towards peace between the PKK and the Turkish government. ASIO assured the Committee that substantive peace discussions could be one trigger that led to them advising the Attorney-General to de-list the PKK.

Mr President, none of the submissions to the Committee’s inquiry denied that the PKK had been involved in terrorist acts that satisfy the statutory criteria for re-listing. The Committee does not recommend disallowance of the regulation in relation to the PKK.

LeT

Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, who maintain links to the Taliban and al-Qa’ida, is one of the most active of the Pakistan based Kashmiri militant groups and represents one of the most significant threats to security forces and civilians in Indian-administered Kashmir and beyond.

Although the LeT formally denied any involvement, the most significant operation conducted by LeT were the attacks on multiple targets in the Indian city of Mumbai between 26-29 November 2008 in which 172 persons were killed and at least 248 wounded.

The Committee does not recommend disallowance of the regulation in relation to LeT.

PIJ

Palestinian Islamic Jihad PIJ is considered to be one of the militarily more effective of the Palestinian militant groups and it has a significant presence in the Gaza and the West Bank and rejects the idea of any political process with Israel.

The Committee does not recommend disallowance of the regulation in relation to the PIJ.

Mr President I would like to take this opportunity to thank my fellow Committee members for their work in reviewing these and other terrorist organisations. Lastly I would like to thank the Secretariat.

Mr President, I commend the report to the House.

Senator Gavin Marshall

Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security

17 November 2009

Question agreed to.