source

The radical Palestinian group Hamas, responsible for bombing attacks against Israel, was among six organizations outlawed Wednesday by Ottawa for their links to terrorism.

Solicitor General Wayne Easter updated the list, which now contains 13 names, in the House of Commons.

"The decision to list an entity is a very serious one and listing carries severe consequences, not only for terrorists, but also for their supporters," Easter said.

Also added to the list Wednesday were: Islamic Army of Aden (IAA); Harakat ul-Mudjahidin (HuM); Asbat Al-Ansar ("The League of Partisans); Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ); and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).

The list, which falls under the Criminal Code, was started last July with seven groups, including al Qaeda.

Alliance foreign affairs critic Stockwell Day said he was shocked that the radical group Hezbollah was not among the groups listed Wednesday.

Israel accuses Hezbollah of masterminding attacks on Israeli targets, including car-bombings.

"I have to hope and will be demanding that Hezbollah be added to that list," Day said "It's been 15 months since Sept. 11 and they should have been on that list by now."

"We don't want to be in a situation as Indonesia was, where the United States' intelligence agencies were warning Indonesia about certain activities in their country and then they had a tragedy (Bali bombing) take place. I don't want to see the same thing happen in Canada."

The penalty for belonging to or aiding a banned group is up to 10 years imprisonment.

Hamas and Hezbollah are named on a United Nations list of more than 200 groups linked to terrorism. They are also on a separate Canadian list that freezes the assets of such groups.

But the federal government had been reluctant to add either to its Criminal Code list because each group has charitable arms and officials feared many people with no terrorist links could face jail time for simply supporting charitable causes.

"This is an issue where we take away certain rights, where we seize assets and accuse people of knowingly being involved in terrorist organizations," Easter told reporters. "We cannot take that listing lightly."

---------------------------------------

Their assets are supposed to be frozen. That includes their website. So nail them for crissake!