The Times of Israel reported that the Israeli Internal Security Service (Shin Bet) played a pivotal role in pushing Britain to initiate a resolution designating Hamas as a terrorist organization.
According to the website, Israeli intelligence officials provided information to their British counterparts about important figures in Hamas and the mechanisms that the movement uses to raise funds.
On Friday, British Home Secretary Priti Patel announced that she had submitted a bill in the British Parliament to amend Chapter Two of the Terrorism Act 2000, to ban Hamas entirely, including its political wing.
She said Hamas has "significant terrorist capabilities, including access to dangerous and sophisticated weapons as well as facilities for training terrorists...but the current classification of Hamas artificially distinguishes between the movement's wings," referring to the originally imposed ban on the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the movement's military wing.
"It is right to update that list to reflect this amendment. It is an important step, especially for the Jewish community," Patel added.
The Times of Israel revealed that many Shin Bet officials traveled to the United Kingdom in recent weeks, and that the information they provided to their British counterparts contributed to the decision of the Interior Minister.
The Hebrew site considered that the British decision represented "a major blow to Hamas, which is collecting large donations in the United Kingdom," according to the claim.
The British government hopes that Parliament will approve the bill within a week, and that it will enter into force before the end of this month.
reactions
Israel welcomed the British move, stressing that there is no difference between the military and political wings of Hamas.
On the other hand, the move sparked outrage among the Palestinians.
Earlier, Hamas issued a statement denouncing the British Home Secretary's decision, and said that Britain supports the aggressors at the expense of the victims "instead of apologizing and correcting its sins against the Palestinian people."
She stressed that resisting occupation by all means, including armed resistance, is a right guaranteed to peoples in international law, while "killing indigenous people, displacing them by force, demolishing their homes, imprisoning them, besieging them, and attacking their sanctities, is terrorism," according to the statement.
Likewise, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned on Saturday the British government's decision to designate the "Hamas" movement as a terrorist organization, and said it represented an unjustified attack on the Palestinian people.