Founded in 2012, and designated by Israel as a terror entity in 2021, Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network promotes the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist organization through an international network of activists.  Samidoun branches, including in Western countries, publicly support and celebrate the PFLP, its actions and its leaders; campaign for the release of jailed PFLP members; and promote anti-Israel campaigns.  Moreover, Samidoun advocates for Palestinians’ “natural right to armed resistance.”

Samidoun does not publish financial information, including funding sources and annual income. In the US, according to its website, “Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network is a fiscally sponsored project of the Alliance for Global Justice, a 501(c)(3) Organization.” Samidoun is also a registered not-for-profit in Canada (since March 2021).

The February 2021 designation of Samidoun by the Israeli Ministry of Defense identifies the organization as an arm of the PFLP. A press statement accompanying the designation added that Samidoun was founded by “members of the PFLP in 2012,” and that it “plays a leading and significant role in the PFLP’s anti-Israel propaganda efforts, fundraising, and recruiting activists,” serving as a “front for the PFLP abroad.” In 2020, Germany expelled Samidoun head Khaled Barakat and imposed a four-year entry ban; his appeal was rejected, citing PFLP links and “support for a terrorist organization.” In 2022, Barakat was denied entry into the EU.

This report provides representative examples of the activities of major Samidoun chapters and key activists in Europe and North America. This includes supporting the PFLP and its members, justifying the use of violence, and incitement against the state of Israel.1

While the network operates on several continents, and has a notable presence in Iran, this document addresses Samidoun activities in Canada, France, the Netherlands, the US, Germany, and Belgium.2

Global Leaders

Khaled Barakat

Barakat has been identified as a senior PFLP member by the terror organization itself, as well as by Israeli authorities.

In September 2013, the PFLP referred to Barakat as “the “coordinator of [the] Samidoun Network,” and has labeled him a “comrade” and “commander at the PFLP” on multiple occasions.3

In June 2012, Barakat, Kates, and several other activists met with senior PFLP officials in Gaza, including Deputy Secretary-General Jamil Mezhar. During the meeting, the PFLP provided Barakat with an award, and Kates expressed her appreciation “to the PFLP and the comrades hosted the delegation.”

The February 2021 Ministry of Defense statement identifies Barakat as the head of Samidoun and “part of the leadership of PFLP abroad.” Furthermore, it accuses him of involvement “with establishing militant cells and motivating terrorist activity in Judea & Samaria (West Bank) and abroad.”

Barakat lived in Germany from 2016 to 2019, but his application for extension of the resident permit was rejected, and a four-year entry ban was imposed, “owing specifically to what the German Interior Ministry called Barakat’s proclivity for violent, antisemitic rhetoric.” In March 2022, the Berlin Administrative Court (VG Berlin), rejected his appeal, finding that Barakat is at least close to the PFLP,” and that he “repeatedly participated in activities of the PFLP in Germany and/or appeared publicly under the PFLP label.” The court further described Barakat’s “support for a terrorist organization is a case of endangering public safety according to the definition in Section 54 (1) no. 2 of the Residence Act,” and “The connection between the plaintiff’s position on the PFLP…and his statements on the armed resistance refutes the…claim that the plaintiff only identifies with individual humanitarian/political goals of the PFLP.” In October 2022, Samidoun reported that Barakat was denied entry in the EU, possibly related to the German ban.

Barakat on “resistance,” terrorists, and acts of violence

  • In a November 1, 2022 article, Barakat describes how “radical voices” expressed by grassroots organizations such Samidoun and its partners in Europe and in North America serve as a “popular international incubator” of the “armed resistance in Palestine.”
  • On May 2, 2022, in an interview for the Iranian State media’s Press TV, Khaled Barakat called for Palestinians to engage in armed violence, stating that, “Palestinians need to organize themselves, refugees in particular, to be an engaged part in the resistance…Palestinian armed resistance in particular today represents Palestinians and it is the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.”
  • On March 13, 2021, Barakat shared a poster featuring Basel Al-A’raj carrying a rifle. The poster reads, “The revolutionary Basel Al-A’raj” and “The resistance will continue. #The Jerusalem_Intifada.”

Barakat hailed the terrorist Basel Al-A’raj on several occasions, referring to him as a “commando fighter,” “revolutionary,” and a “hero.”

  • On October 17, 2019, Barakat marked the 18th anniversary of the assassination of Israeli Tourism Minister Rechavam Ze’evi by PFLP terrorists, writing, “The outstanding and heroic October 17 operation unfortunately still remains a sole commando operation, which the likes of which has not been carried out again…Loyalty to the martyrs, to [the PFLP Secretary-General] Abu Ali Mustafa and October 17 operation heroes…May we always walk the path of October [17].”
  • In an August 2020 op-ed in Electronic Intifada, Barakat noted, “Association with the Palestinian armed resistance and its political parties is not a cause for shame or a justification for repression…boycott campaigns and popular organizing are not alternatives to armed resistance but interdependent tactics of struggle. Any meaningful defense of the Palestinian people must clearly uphold the right to resist colonialism by all means, including armed struggle – and support efforts to remove Palestinian resistance groups from lists of ‘terrorist organizations.’”

Barakat on the PFLP

  • On August 24, 2020, Barakat shared an invitation to a Samidoun co-sponsored event “Commemorating the 19th anniversary of the martyrdom of the great patriotic and national commander Abu Ali Mustafa.”
  • Barakat participated in a December 15, 2019 event celebrating the 52nd anniversary of the PFLP’s establishment, alongside PFLP member and coordinator of Samidoun Europe, Mohammed Khatib. During the event, Barakat stated, “the birth of the PFLP was an important moment in the history of the Palestinian struggle for return and liberation.”

Middle: Barakat (circled in red) speaking at Samidoun Greece’s event, celebrating the PFLP’s anniversary. Right: Khatib speaking at the event

Samidoun Greece’s invitation to the PFLP’s 52nd anniversary celebrations, featuring the PFLP’s logo.

  • On December 11, 2019, the anniversary of the PFLP’s founding, Barakat shared a picture of a PFLP rally and wrote, “May the foundation [anniversary] be a new fighting station in the goal of developing and renewing the [Popular] Front and implementing its fighting role…Loyalty and glory to the martyrs, all martyrs and may victory be an ally to our fighting people.”

Charlotte Kates

Samidoun has identified Charlotte Kates (who, as noted, is married to Barakat) as a key activist and coordinator since at least August 2014. Kates is listed as a “director” of Samidoun in Canada, (with Thomas Hofland and Joe Catron – see below).

Celebrating PFLP and other terrorists

  • According to Samidoun, in a November 2, 2018 article in Al-Adab magazine, Kates wrote, “Defending the Palestinian prisoners and campaigning for their freedom is an inseparable aspect of defending the Palestinian resistance and the right to armed struggle…From Dalal Mughrabi…to the campaigns against…honoring Shadia Abu Ghazaleh and Khaled Nazzal…It is our responsibility to fight back by upholding Palestinian resistance leaders as the international social justice leaders for which they should be recognized.”
  • According to Samidoun, in March 2017, Al-Adab Magazine published Kates’ op-ed on PFLP co-founder Wadie Haddad, who was involved in multiple airline hijackings in the 60s and 70s.  Kates wrote, “…the aim of these [Haddad’s] operations was not to create ‘terror’ through killing and injury, but to upend the framework in which the oppressed are constantly vulnerable to all forms of attack…while the oppressor is able to sit comfortably without fear.”
  • As reported by the PFLP, in August 2016, Kates spoke at a solidarity event for convicted PFLP member Bilal Kayed. During the event, Kates “praised the role of Bilal’s comrades in the PFLP in the occupation’s prisons, and that they offer him support…and first and foremost PFLP Secretary-General Ahmad Sa’adat…”
    • Kayed was arrested in 2002 and later convicted of a series of attacks and attempted attacks and sentenced to 14.5 years in jail.
  • In a March 12, 2015 Samidoun report, Kates referred to Rasmea Odeh as “a leader and…icon of the Palestinian community and all communities and movements struggling for justice and liberation.” Kates noted, “Palestinian armed resistance” is “an absolute right of a people under occupation…Both armed resistance…[is] driven by love and service to the people.”

Kates on “resistance”

  • According to Samidoun, during a protest held in New York in January 2022, Kates stressed “the need to support the Palestinian resistance and the prisoner movement which represents the true and legitimate leadership of the Palestinian liberation movement and expresses the Palestinian people’s rights to return and liberate Palestine from the river to the sea.”

Kates and Barakat speaking in front of a PFLP flag. Kates openly expressed support for prisoners who represent “Palestinian resistance in all of its forms.”

Samidoun’s Support for “Resistance” after Hamas’ October 7 Atrocities

  • On October 7, 2023, Samidoun issued the following statement, “Palestine: The Resistance Rises toward Revolution, Return and Liberation.” According to Samidoun, “As the morning dawns on 7 October 2023, the resistance is rising throughout occupied Palestine, smashing the siege on Gaza with a comprehensive offensive confronting the occupier by land and air, taking control of Palestinian land, seizing occupation settlers and soldiers and launching thousands of missiles as Palestinian resistance forces fight to advance return and the liberation of Palestine…The resistance is taking new steps to liberate Palestinian land, to confront the settlement project and to liberate the prisoners from a position of power…Samidoun joins the Masar Badil…in calling ‘the masses of our Palestinian people, supporters of the resistance in exile and diaspora, allies from the liberation forces and movements, and solidarity committees with the Palestinian people everywhere, to express their support for the heroic Palestinian resistance, raise the flag of Palestine and the banners of resistance, and organize popular, political and media demonstrations and events to expose the Zionist crimes against our people in occupied Palestine…The heroic Palestinian resistance has opened a chapter of battles of dignity and pride at the dawn of October 7, 2023…From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

Samidoun Spain’s post praising the October 7 atrocities, and featuring a poster showing a Palestinian mob in control of an Israel army vehicle and the text “Palestine lives and resists.”

  • On October 7, 2023, Samidoun Spain shared a poster featuring Palestinians celebrating atop an Israeli tank and wrote, “We call for mass assistance in support of the brave and dignified Palestinian resistance that has today proven to be more alive and willing to reclaim the land that has been stripped from them by Israeli colonialism for over 75 years…our responsibility is to support the right of the Palestinian people to defend themselves by all means within their reach from extermination to liberation and return to a free Palestine from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. SEE YOU IN THE STREETS!”

Samidoun Spain’s call for a pro-Hamas protest, lauding the October 7 atrocities.

  • On October 7, 2023, Samidoun Netherlands’ Facebook page invited the public to a demonstration titled, “solidarity with the Palestinian resistance for Palestinian liberation from the river to the sea.” The invitation post stated, “URGENT! [adding Palestine flag emojis] Come to Rotterdam and show support for the Palestinian resistance during their operation against the Israeli colonial regime. The resistance has successfully broken through the colonial siege in a bold and heroic operation. Palestine and its leadership are now being answered with bombings of residential areas in densely populated #gaza. We condemn every Dutch politician who blatantly chooses the side of the Zionists despite more than 75+ years of Nakba. The resistance is the only representative of the people!” (emphases added)
  • On October 8, 2023, Samidoun Spain shared a poster featuring a Palestinian mob in control of an Israel army vehicle and the text “Palestine lives and resists.” The group wrote, “Despite more than 75 years of colonization, the Palestinian people live and resist! The new path taken by the Palestinian people towards liberation and return is a pride for all the Palestinian people in occupied Palestine and in the Diaspora, but also for all internationalist peoples…Long live the Palestinian people and struggle! Until liberation and return, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.”
  • On October 27, 2023, Samidoun Sweden shared “answers” to “questions about why you support the attacks on October 7” asked by the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter. In its statement, Samidoun Sweden noted, “We stand for the right of the Palestinian people to fight for their liberation from a colonial occupation that has lasted since 1948…The struggle against occupation includes armed struggle and is a right recognized in international law, has been  confirmed by the United Nations and applies to Palestinians…Over the past year, we have seen overwhelming support in Sweden for Ukraine’s right to defend itself against Russia’s occupation of the country. When it is Palestinians who take up arms to defend themselves, it sounds very different. Why is it like that?” Responding to the question “Why do you support the PFLP, an organization that has been branded a terrorist by the EU and the US?” Samidoun Sweden answered, “First, they join and participate in and lead a legitimate struggle under international law for liberation and return against over 75 years of colonialism and occupation. Second, we believe that they represent one of the best opportunities to achieve a free, democratic and secular Palestine…” 
  • On November 3, 2023, Samidoun published a statement titled, “Gaza is a Strategy, Not Just a Place.” According to Samidoun, “In the 20th century, fascist states used racialized dehumanization, ghettoization and forced transfer to concentration camps, coupled with brutal military suppression of orking class and colonized people to expand their system of extermination. These tactics served as a mechanism for accomplishing the ruling class’ “final solution” and to preserve the power of capitalism…Gaza is a focal point of this stranglehold and the testing ground for a completely new tactic of extermination…It is in that vein that we salute the brave Palestinian people and their resistance…Stop the Israeli Genocide of Palestinians! Support Palestinian Resistance & Revolution!” (emphasis added)
  • According to several news sources, on November 14, 2023, Vancouver police was forced to call nearly 100 police offices to disperse 250 pro-Palestinian protesters who surrounded a Vancouver restaurant where Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was dining so that the prime minister could be escorted out. According to Vancouver police, during the protest, “a 27-year-old man was arrested for punching a female officer in the face.” On November 15, 2023, Canadian freelance journalist Bob Mackin tweeted a video showing Samidoun International Coordinator Charlotte Kates leading chants “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and “Justin Trudeau you can’t hide, you’re commiting genocide” and “end the genocide now.”

In addition, since October 7, Samidoun has organized numerous rallies in the United States and Canada, including: 

Canada

Samidoun lists chapters in Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver.  According to an April 28, 2022 National Post article, senior PFLP member Khaled Barakat and his wife, Charlotte Kates, identified as Samidoun’s international coordinator, have resided in and operated out of Vancouver for a number of years. According to the article, since the start of the 2000s, Barakat “has lived in Canada off and on” and Kates has lived there since the 2010s.

Activities

  • In July 2023, Samidoun held an event in Vancouver “celebrating the 51st anniversary of the martyrdom of the revolutionary author Ghassan Kanafani.” During the event, Samidoun international coordinator said, “The event…emphasizes our support of the Palestinian resistance and the fighting prisoner movement in the occupation’s prisons, expressing that we stand with the brave resistance in Jenin refugee camp, the Gaza Strip and all of occupied Palestine.” Senior Samidoun member and a member of Masar Badil’s executive body Khaled Barakat also spoke at the event and discussed “Ghassan Kanafani’s body of literature and books and their impact on the Palestinian issue the the importance of Kanafani’s experience on the national culture front and the spread of revolutionary and critical consciousness…The timing of the anniversary of [the death of] Kanafani that coincided with the ‘Bravery of Jenin’ campaign that is a living model of the Palestinian people’s ability and willingness to give and sacrifice to achieve its national rights and has established a new phase in the struggle in confronting the Zionist project  in Palestine…”
  • On July 1, 2023, Samidoun announced an event to be held on July 8 in Vancouver,  in honor of senior PFLP terrorist Ghassan Kanadani. According to Samidoun’s statement, “Join us on Saturday, 8 July for an evening of solidarity for Palestine in Vancouver to mark the 51st anniversary of the assassination of Palestinian writer, leader and revolutionary, Ghassan Kanafani…Ghassan Kanafani and Walid Daqqah: Two Palestinian writers, two Palestinian freedom fighters…Join us to hear from…BDS Vancouver – Coast Salish on Scotiabank’s investment in Elbit Systems and Zionist war crimes; and Samidoun Vancouver speakers on the case of Walid Daqqah…”
  • On May 22, 2023, Samidoun and several other pro-Palestinian groups, held a demonstration headlined “Walk Against Israel” in Toronto. According to Samidoun, demonstrators “emphasized their commitment to the right to return of Palestinian refugees and the liberation of Palestine from the river to the sea, as well as their support for the Palestinian people’s right to resist by all means necessary…[and] demanded that Canada end its ongoing support for the Zionist regime and urged the escalation of the boycott of Israel.” During the demonstration participants carried signs calling for “justice for the martyrs of Palestine,” referring to senior PIJ combatants; cheered “millions of martyrs are on their way to Jerusalem. Oh martyr be happy, we shall continue your fighting”; and dismembered a mannequin wearing an IDF-logo t-shirt, and burned it and the flag of Israel.

Top left: a demonstrator holding a sign calling “justice for the martyrs of Palestine,” referring to senior PIJ combatants. Top right and bottom: dismembering a mannequin wearing an IDF-logo t-shirt, and burning it and the flag of Israel.

  • According to Samidoun, on May 15, 2023, Samidoun and other pro-Palestinian groups organized a demonstration in Vancouver, commemorating Nakba Day. During the demonstration, Samidoun members and protesters held signs in support of senior members of the PIJ terror group, lauding armed resistance, delegitimizing the State of Israel, and advocating for the release of imprisoned terrorists. Following the demonstration, Samidoun stated that protesters “affirmed the right of the Palestinian refugees to return to their nation, carry out popular and armed struggle to liberate Palestine from the river to the sea, and repeated slogans against official canadian policies which are biased in favor of the Zionist entity, and slogans in Arabic, English and French in support of the resistance and against the tyrant Zionist violence against the Gaza Strip.” During the demonstration, senior Samidoun member and PFLP member Khaled Barakat stated that “there is a need to announce a clear position against the existence of the Zionist regime in its entirety, in Palestine, from the river to the sea, and to seriously work on supporting the resistance in Palestine and Lebanon, without stuttering or confusion and to annul the so-called ‘terror lists’ in Canada…” and “attacked Canadian laws that criminalize the Palestinian and Lebanese resistance and addressed Canadian security organs and the Canadian prime Minister Justin Trudeau and said ‘We publicly state from here our support of the armed resistance in Palestine and Lebanon and we are not afraid of you.’” (emphases added)

Clockwise from top left: Samidoun Coordinator Charlotte Kates lauding senior members of the PIJ’s military wing; Samidoun protesters advocating to free PFLP terrorist Walid Daqqah; protestors holding signs that read “resistance is not terrorism” and “from the river to the sea Palestine will be free;” protesters lauding senior PIJ terrorists Iyad Al-Hassani and Khader Adnan. (Source)

  • On October 29, 2022, Samidoun Vancouver and other groups held a march, in which they called for “the return of Palestinian refugees, support for the Palestinian resistance, and the liberation of Palestine from the river to the sea.” During the march, Kates “saluted the Palestinian resistance as defenders of humanity and strugglers for liberation.”
  • On July 8, 2022, marking the anniversary of Ghassan Kanafani’s death, Samidoun Vancouver organized an event honoring, “Ghassan Kanafani: Palestinian revolutionary, artist and writer.” Samidoun noted, “This anniversary is a time to celebrate Palestinian revolutionary and resistance arts inside and outside Palestine…and organize for international solidarity with the Palestinian cause, for liberation and return to Palestine, from the river to the sea…an evening of action, music, discussion and resistance in honour of Kanafani’s legacy and ongoing revolutionary example.”
  • On January 29, 2020, Samidoun Vancouver, and additional groups, held an event titled, “Freedom for [PFLP Secretary-General] Ahmad Sa’adat.” According to Samidoun, Khaled Barakat spoke about “the case of Ahmad Sa’adat and fellow Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails and the use of ‘anti-terror’ designation and repressive legislation to suppress Palestinian organizing inside and outside occupied Palestine.”

Samidoun Vancouver’s invitation to the “freedom for Ahmed Sa’adat” event, featuring the PFLP’s logo.

 

France

According to the PFLP, in March 2019, the Coup Pour Coup 31 association dissolved after being active for 10 years, and re-formed as the Collectif Palestine Vaincra (CPV), Samidoun’s chapter in France.4

CPV ties to the PFLP

CPV lists the PFLP as a partner, as well as several Palestinian NGOs designated by Israel as terrorist entities in October 2021 over their ties to the PFLP.

On June 29, 2020, the PFLP stated that Ahmad Sa’adat “congratulated CPV members for the support and assistant to the Palestinian cause and their rights.”

PayPal and the French government act

In June 2020, the online payment platform Paypal closed CPV’s account “because of its links with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a terrorist organization placed on the official lists of the Union Europe and the United States.”

On March 9, 2022, France’s Minister of Interior Gérald Darmanin announced  CPV’s dissolution because the group “calls for hatred, violence and discrimination.” On April 29, 2022 the French State Council announced the suspension of the decree of dissolution, pending an appeal by the NGO.

(For more information on CFV’s PFLP ties, read NGO Monitor’s report [French])

Tom Martin

At least since December 2021, Martin has held the role of CPV spokesperson. An April 25, 2022 article on Le Monde called Martin “the main leader of the Collectif Palestine Vaincra.” Martin has been a member of CPV at least since January 2020.

Support for the PFLP

  • According to a November 30, 2021 interview with Arbejderen, Martin stated, “Yes, they are trying to label us as terrorists…But we continue to support the Palestinian resistance and its legitimacy. And yes, we respect Georges Abdallah, as well as Ahmad Sa’adat and Khalida Jarrar, who are political leaders of the PFLP.”  According to the article, “Martin considers the PFLP to be one of the Palestinian liberation movements.”
  • On December 11, 2020, on the occasion of the 53rd anniversary of the PFLP’s founding, Martin shared CPV’s post celebrating the event, and wrote, “Happy anniversary! #53_years_our_fight_continues.”

Martin congratulated the PFLP on the anniversary of its foundation

Violent rhetoric

  • On April 15, 2022, Martin shared a video of Palestinians rioting against Israeli security forces and worshipers and tweeted, “Palestine will live, Intifada will win! #DefendAlAqsa #AlAqsaUnderAttack.”

Nicolas Berry

Nicolas Berry has been member of Collectif Palestine Vaincra at least since August 2019. As of April 2022, Berry was described by the French Conseil d’État, the French administrative supreme court, as a representative of CPV.

Supporting the PFLP, its members, and allies

  • On May 28, 2022, Berry shared a picture of Fusako Shigenobuon on the occasion of her release from prison and wrote, “Japanese political prisoner and Palestine fighter…prisoner for her role as a founder of the revolutionary organization of the Japanese Red Army (JRA)…and for having worked…with Palestinian revolutionaries of the PFLP for a liberated Palestine.”
  • On March 6, 2022, Berry shared a picture of Basel Al-A’raj and wrote, “On March 6, 2017, the Zionist occupying forces assassinated the writer, intellectual and activist Basil al-A’raj. Revolutionaries never die.”
  • On January 26, 2022, Berry shared a picture of Badran Jaber and wrote, “Revolutionaries never die.”
    • Following his January 2022 death, the PFLP referred to Jaber as an “extraordinary military fighter and commander…who was arrested for being a member in the PFLP and for charges regarding organizing, training and arming others as part of a special active operational cell.”
  • On December 14, 2021, Berry shared a CPV article and wrote, “Long live the PFLP! Long live the Palestinian Resistance!”
  • On November 18, 2020, Berry shared a mural of Uday and Ghassan Abu Jamal and wrote, “Revolutionaries never die!”
  • On November 18, 2014, PFLP members Uday and Ghassan Abu Jamal murdered five Israelis in the Har Nof synagogue massacre.

Berry shared a mural of the PFLP terrorists Uday and Ghassan Abu Jamal and wrote, “Revolutionaries never die!”

  • Netherlands

    According to Revolutionary Unity (Revolutionaire Eenheid), a Dutch communist organization that cooperates with Samidoun, Samidoun’s Netherlands chapter was established in May 2019.

Activities

    • On June 6, 2021, Samidoun Netherlands, among other organizations, organized a protest in which Samidoun Netherlands’ Yasmin Ahmed said, “our commitment [is] to continue to struggle for the liberation of Palestine and support all forms of Palestinian resistance…Palestinians…are united in their goal for a liberated Palestine from the river to the sea…”
    • On January 29, 2022, Samidoun Netherlands set up a stand in Rotterdam, campaigning for the release of Ahmad Sa’adat.
  • On May 26, 2022, Samidoun Netherlands shared an invitation for the group’s event commemorating the anniversary of the death of former PFLP senior member and spokesman Ghassan Kanafani. Samidoun Netherlands wrote, “it is a day to organize for international solidarity with the Palestinian struggle, for liberation and return to Palestine, from the river to the sea…”
  • On August 7, 2022, Samidoun Netherlands demonstrated on behalf of Bassam al-Saadi, following his arrest by Israel. Al-Saadi was responsible for Islamic Jihad’s West Bank “military” operations.

Thomas Hofland

Thomas Hofland has held the role of coordinator of Samidoun Netherlands at least since May 2021.5

Supporting the PFLP

Hofland (circled in red) visiting the offices of the PFLP in Lebanon.

Hofland (circled in red) paying respects to deceased PFLP senior member Kanafani.

Holfland on “resistance”

  • According to Samidoun, on May 22, 2022, Hofland spoke at a pro-Palestinian protest and stated, “We say loud and clear that Israel has no right to exist, not a millimeter…we support the resistance until all of Palestine is free…From the river to the sea Palestine will be free.”

Hofland (circled in red) speaking in a pro-Palestinian protest, next to protests raising the PFLP’ flag

Hofland at the pro-Palestinian protest stating, “We say loud and clear that Israel has no right to exist not a millimeter.”

Yasmin Ahmed

Yasmin Ahmed has been a member of Samidoun Netherlands at least since July 2020.6

Supporting and Cooperating with the PFLP

  • During a July 2020 protest, organized by Samidoun Netherlands, Ahmed advocated for the release of convicted PFLP member Salah Hamouri and noted that she previously met him and “other former prisoners” in 2017.

Ahmed (circled in red) speaking in a pro-Palestinian protest, next to protests raising the PFLP’ flag.

Ahmed (circled in red) disseminating official PFLP material, “The Strategy for the Liberation of Palestine” booklet and calling for the release of PFLP terrorist George Abdallah.

  • On December 31, 2018, Ahmed shared a picture with Rasmea Odeh and wrote, “Rasmea Odeh, Angela Davis, Connie Ledesma…Three of my sheroes.”

Ahmed with PFLP terrorist Rasmea Odeh, who was referred by Ahmed as a “sheroe.”

De-Legitimizing Israel and Embracing the Use of Violence

  • On May 15, 2021, Ahmed wrote, “The message today was a clear and unequivocal rejection of the two state solution…liberation of all of Palestine from the river to the sea…We marched to the Israeli embassy and called for the expulsion of the ambassador and an end to Irish Israeli relations.”
  • On May 8, 2021, during combat between Israel and Gaza-based terrorist organizations, Ahmed wrote, “We know that it is this resistance that will defeat the attacks of Zionism and imperialism…support the Palestinian resistance and the liberation of Palestine from the river to the sea!”

United States

Samidoun lists US branches in Albuquerque, New York-New Jersey area, and Portland. Samidoun Albuquerque has been active since at least March 2022; Samidoun New York and New Jersey (Samidoun NY/NJ) has been active since at least in December 20217; The Center for Study and Preservation of Palestine, which Samidoun lists as its Portland chapter, has been active at least since August 2021.

Activities

  • Samidoun co-sponsored a July 8 rally in Seattle: “over 50 people united in Seattle’s Ruby Chow Park to rally in opposition to the Zionist invasion of Jenin and show their support for the Palestinian resistance…Members of Samidoun Seattle…gave speeches highlighting the role of the U.S. government in funding and arming Zionist aggression…With attendees chanting ‘Long live the Intifada, Intifada Intifada!’, the event culminated in a heated march to the Seattle I-5 bridge to drop a banner boldly painted ‘Long Live the Palestinian Resistance…’At this moment, we must play our part alongside the brave people of Jenin and of Palestine and consciously combine our struggles to confront this military machine of colonialism and occupation,’ said Nina Kranzdorf of Samidoun Seattle.”
  • According to Samidoun, “On Friday 25 August 2023, Samidoun NY/NJ held a screening and discussion of the documentary film ‘Jenin, Jenin’ directed by Mohammed Bakri at Mayday Space in NYC. The film, by Palestinian director Mohammed Bakri, covers the battle of Jenin refugee camp in 2002, including the massacre of Palestinians and the destruction of portions of the camp, and the resistance of the people. The film highlights the voices of Palestinians in Jenin, from elders to youth, and their unquenched spirit of resistance and commitment to liberation despite the devastation and trauma to which they have been subjected…Dozens of attendees enjoyed the film and participated in a lively discussion afterward. Within Our Lifetime – United for Palestine members also attended the event, speaking about their campaign to condemn New Yor (sic) City Mayor Eric Adams for his recent normalization trip to ‘israel’ and uplift the message #EricAdamsHasBloodOnHisHands…”
  • On November 13, 2022, Samidoun promoted a November 17 event titled, “Free them All – Abolition Across Borders,” to be held at New York University. The event was co-hosted by Law Students for Justice in Palestine (LSJP)  and Ending the Prison Industrial Complex. According to Samidoun, “Last year’s historic escape by 6 Palestinian freedom fighters from an occupation prison brought attention to this long-standing history of solidarity as Palestinian organizers drew connections to the Attica Prison Riot of 1971, which inspired a Palestinian uprising in the Ashkelon prison…Speakers will include Dylan Saba from @pal_legal and Hussein from the NY/NJ chapter of Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network @samidounnynj…”
  • On October 9, 2022, Samidoun NY/NJ, and other groups, held a demonstration to “shut Elbit down.” During the rally, Samidoun NY/NJ coordinator Laila quoted PFLP Founder George Habash and commented, “Al Hakim [Habash’s alias] was speaking of the brave Palestinian resistance in Palestine…We all have a right and a duty to resist the murderous Zionist entity and all institutions that support and benefit from the Zionist entity’s genocide of the Palestinian people.”
  • On April 4, 2022, Samidoun NY/NJ and other groups held a demonstration in New York under the slogan, “Support Palestinian Resistance and Liberation by Any Means Necessary.”
  • On October 2, 2017, Samidoun and other groups held a protest in New York demanding “freedom for imprisoned Palestinian leader Ahmad Sa’adat and all Palestinian prisoners.” Samidoun referred to Sa’adat as “one of the foremost leaders of the Palestinian prisoners’ movement as well as a Palestinian national leader.”
  • On August 14, 2017, Samidoun activists participated in a New York protest supporting Rasmea Odeh. Samidoun member Nick Maniace said, “We are here to salute Rasmea Odeh for her sacrifice and service in the cause of liberation for the Palestinian homeland…These rabid-zionists condemnation of Rasmea Odeh was also yet another indication of Rasmea Odeh’s heroism and justness.”

Leaders in the United States

Joe Catron

Joe Catron has been the coordinator of Samidoun US at least since February 2018. Catron has been a member of the Samidoun Network at least since January 2016.

Catron has written numerous articles for Electronic Intifada in support of convicted Palestinian terrorists.

Supporting the Use of Violence

  • On March 17, 2017, Catron spoke at a protest that honored “slain Palestinian youth leader Basel al-Araj,” and said, “…his assassination [is] an assault on all those who strive for freedom and dignity. Basel embodied the revolutionary politics for which he fought. His refusal to surrender to the colonial…only renews our collective determination to struggle for liberation and return.”
  • In June 2014, Catron participated in a Gaza panel expressing “solidarity with Palestinian prisoners,” alongside Hamas Chief of Security Tawfeek Abu Naim.

Hamas’ Tawfeek Abu Naim (circled left) next to Catron (circled right) at a “solidarity with Palestinian prisoners” event.

Laila Boutros

Laila Boutros has held the role of coordinator of Samidoun New York and New Jersey8 at least since December 2021.

Supporting PFLP figures

  • During a pro-Palestinian protest, held on March 30, 2022, Boutros hailed Ghassan Kanafani, calling him a “beloved Palestinian writer and PFLP leader…”

Boutros on “resistance”

  • On August 8, 2022, Boutros participated in a pro-Palestinian rally, “NYC Stands with Gaza emergency rally,” organized by Samidoun NY/NJ and other Palestinian organizations in response to Israel’s military operation in Gaza against the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terror group. According to Samidoun, the rally “honor[s] our martyrs and defend the Palestinian people’s right to resist.” Boutros stated, “We commend the brave Palestinian resistance forces as they courageously defend the Palestinian people amid the latest attack by the murderous Israeli state.”
  • According to Samidoun, on April 20, 2022, Boutros co-chaired a New York rally, “NYC emergency rally to support Palestinian resistance and liberation by any means necessary” (underscore original). During the protest, speakers expressed “their full support for the Palestinian people’s struggle to liberate their land from the river to the sea…and supporting the Palestinian people and their resistance.”

Germany

Samidoun Deutchland has been active at least since January 2021.9 As noted above, Khaled Barakat lived in Germany in 2016-2019. In 2020, he was denied an extension of his residency permit based on his links to the PFLP.

On November 2, 2023, German authorities disbanded Samidoun Germany, stating, “Samidoun spread anti-Israeli and anti-Jewish propaganda as an international network under the guise of a ‘solidarity organization’ for prisoners in various countries…the holding of spontaneous ‘celebrations’ here in Germany in response to the terrible terrorist attacks of Hamas against Israel shows the antisemitic, inhuman worldview of Samidoun in a particularly disgusting way.” Following the decision, members of the chapter fled to Switzerland in order to avoid facing charges on German soil. 

Activities

  • On October 2, 2023, Samidoun released a statement on a Berlin protest that was held by Samidoun and others on September 30, 2023. According to the statement, “Police started to check every picture and text…and demanded to not raise Samidoun flags…and attempted to demand to remove flags and signs which feature the picture of the prisoner fighter Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, the Lebanese commando fighter that engaged in resistance for Palestine…Participants refused these oppressive restrictions and insisted on raising Samidoun flags and  ones [i.e., signs] that feature Geroges Abdallah until the police retracted its demands…demonstrations repeatedly cried calls in support of the prisoners and the resistance and  Palestine will be free, from the river to the sea…We state now and emphasize always: Long live Palestine, free, Arab, and proud, from the river to the sea!”
  • On September 6, 2023, Samidoun published a statement by “Masar Badil Steering Body member and Samidoun Germany coordinator” Zaid Abdulnasser, in which he “confirmed that…the Palestinian people’s commitment to the Palestinian resistance is an organic commitment that we have seen throughout  history. [Masar Badil] values the role of the avant-garde Islamic resistance in confronting the attacks of the Zionist enemy against the people and the holy sites, and in defending the dignity and the rights of our people wherever they are, and in continuing the path of national liberating combat…The role of his movement is complementary to the resistance in Palestine. Their role is to crate a popular rallying around the course of action of the resistance and its voice and carry it to the diaspora, and enable our people in exile and diaspora to build instruments in order to be able to participate in fighting and defeating the Zionist enemy outside [of Palestine] as well… and confronting the Zionist movement and merging with the fight of our people in Palestine and his glorious resistance…” (emphases added)
  • On May 2, 2023, Samidoun Deutschland organized a demonstration in Berlin, honoring and lauding senior PIJ terrorist Khader Adnan. Samidoun stated, “The martyrdom of Sheikh Khader Adnan, the symbol of dignity, freedom and steadfastness, is an Israeli assassination, carried out with forethought and premeditation. It has been clear for the months of this strike that the occupation is determined to eliminate this symbol of prisoners’ resistance and Palestinian sacrifice…he is an example of the unbending will of the Palestinian people that would not bow down to colonialism, Zionism and exploitation.”
  • On April 8, 2023, Samidoun held a demonstration in Berlin, in which protesters praised terror violence and Hamas’ military wing Izz Ad-din Al-Qassam Brigades, and chanted violent and antisemitic chants. According to the German NGO “democ. e.V.,” a video from the protest in Berlin features a large crowd of protesters chanting in Arabic such slogans as: “Death, death, death Israel!,” “I generate the bloody body!,” “Death to the Jews!,” “With our soul and our blood, we liberate al-Aqsa!,” “Oh, Qassam Brigade, vengeance, vengeance!,” “Tel Aviv, the answer will come!” and  “Oh, Qassam, day by day!” Moreover, the release of Khader Adnan (high ranking member of PIJ), Walid Daqqah (PFLP member who had kidnapped and killed an IDF soldier in 1985), and Ahmad Manasra (a Palestinian terrorist who stabbed two Israelis with a knife) was among the demands made by the protesters. According to Samidoun, the protest was meant to “to declare with one voice that our Palestinian people will respond to the call of duty in defense of their people and sanctities, and in order to liberate their land from the river to the sea.”
  • On April 8, 2023, Samidoun and Masar Badil held a demonstration in Cologne, “in solidarity with the guardians of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.” Samidoun announced the demonstration while Arab rioters held violent confrontations on the Temple Mount. Samidoun stated, “The armed resistance, which enjoyed popular support, demonstrates that it is the only legitimate protector of Al-Aqsa [Mosque] and Palestine. Just like our people, across the spectrum, is revolting in the occupied homeland, in all the arenas of Palestine, it is time that our people in the diaspora will rise up so that the unity of the Palestinian people will be complete and it shall take by force its legitimate right of self defense and its rights…”
  • During an April 8, 2023 Samidoun-organized protest in Berlin, demonstrators chanted “Death to the Jews, death to Israel!”
    • On April 12, 2023, the German daily Tagesspiegel reported that Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), “suspects the group [Samidoun] to be part of the radical Palestinian organization, PFLP.”
    • On April 13, 2023, Samidoun claimed that Berlin authorities banned an upcoming Samidoun rally. According to the Berlin newspaper BZ, “the police had banned the demonstration on the grounds that it could lead to inflammatory or anti-Semitic calls, glorification of violence or acts of violence. The Administrative Court and the Higher Administrative Court had confirmed the ban in summary proceedings.” 
    • On May 6, 2023, Germany’s Federal commissioner for combating antisemitism, Felix Klein, stated that “a ban should also be considered for the Palestinian organization PFLP and its sub-organization ‘Samidoun’”
  • On August 10, 2022, Samidoun Deutchland shared a poster featuring Ibrahim Al-Nabulsi, with his slogan “No one will surrender the rifle,” referring to him as “a martyr.”
    • Al-Nabulsi was a member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and part of a cell that carried out multiple shooting attacks against Israelis in 2022.  He was killed in a firefight with Israeli forces in August 2022.
  • On October 20, 2021, Samidoun Deutschland shared an invitation to an event, co-sponsored by Samidoun Deutchland, advocating the release of Georges Abdallah.
  • On August 27, 2021, Samidoun Deutschland shared a poster quoting Abu Ali Mustafa, “We have returned to resist, not to negotiate.” The group added, “In retaliation to (sic) his assassination, the PFLP executed far-right Zionist Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi. 20 years later, Abu Ali’s legacy is still relevant – that of the radical struggle against imperialism, Zionism and reactionary Arab regimes.”
  • On May 27, 2021, Samidoun Deutschland published an invitation to a rally co-sponsored by the group, “The Palestinian resistance will win.” Samidoun Deutschland wrote, “Join the international protest for the liberation of Palestine. All the struggling peoples around the world…stand with the fight of the Palestinian people for the liberation of Palestine from the river to the sea. We call supporters of Palestinian rights to…stand together against the suppression and all the attempts to criminalize the national fight…”
  • On March 28, 2021, Samidoun Deutschland shared posters of Wadie Haddad, and wrote, “Today is the 43rd anniversary of the martyrdom of the national, Arab and international patriotic hero Wadie Haddad. We associate with Wadie Haddad, to a revolutionary Arab international school…a school in which we learn that the violence of regimes can be confronted only by revolutionary violence…”

Zaid Abdulnasser

Zaid Abdulnasser has held the role of coordinator for Samidoun Germany (at least as of October 2023), and a position as member of the Executive Committee of Masar Badil (at least as of September 2023).

  • According to +972 Magazine, in July 2023, Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees notified Samidoun Germany coordinator Zaid Abdulnasser that his refugee status in the country was set to be rescinded due to “extremist activities.”  According to the magazine, German authorities verified that “Abdulnasser’s refugee protection status is being rescinded due to an alleged connection between Samidoun and the PFLP…while the PFLP ‘is not subject to a ban on activity in Germany, the dissemination of propaganda materials and the use of symbols of terrorist organizations that are listed on the EU terror list are prohibited.”’
  • According to an article published on the Palestine Forum on June 12,  2023, Abdulnasser said, “Palestinian activity has several principles linked to the right of return, liberating Palestine from the river to the sea, and resistance, and first and foremost armed resistance, and it does not depend on the views of the state which Palestinians live in nor it is not the right of anybody to limit the method in which one defends his cause.”

Musaab Abu Atta

  • On October 3, 2023, following restrictions by German authorities on one of its members, Samidoun stated, “On Friday, 29 September, German police arrived at the home of Musaab Abu Atta, a Palestinian refugee from Syria, member of Samidoun Germany, member of the executive committee of the Masar Badil…where they issued a political ban, prohibiting him from attending any political and social events and activities until 31 October 2023 or until you leave the country…German authorities actually criminally prosecuted him for making posts on Facebook as a teenager in support of Palestinian resistance…” 

Samidoun released a picture of Samidoun Germany activist Musaab Abu Atta, wearing a shirt featuring PFLP leader and former spokesperson Ghassan Kanadani.

Belgium

Charleroi pour la Palestine, Samidoun’s chapter in Belgium,10 has been active since at least January 2010.11

Activities

  • On September 23, 2023, Samidoun released a statement on an event organized by Samidoun Brussels “on the deportation of migrants and refugees and the imprisonment of Palestinians.” According to Samiodun, “Speakers Khaled Barakat and Nermin Hwaihi highlighted the ways in which Western imperialism has conducted a war on the Palestinian and Arab peoples, through the Zionist movement, for over 70 years…In his speech, Khaled Barakat, Palestinian writer and member of the Executive committee of the Masar Badil…emphasized the role of Palestinians in exile and diaspora organizing themselves and continuing to resist imperialism, Zionism and racism, until return and the liberation of Palestine from the river to the sea…Participants…called for the freedom of all Palestinian prisoners in Zionist jails, as well as Georges Abdallah, the Lebanese Arab struggler for Palestine who has been jailed in France for 39 years…”
  • On May 27, 2023, Samidoun held a “Resistance Festival”  in Brussels, which “celebrated Palestinian resistance in all forms, reaffirming the anti-colonialist, anti-racist nature of the struggle for Palestinian return and liberation from the river to the sea…” The protest featured signs calling for the release of PFLP terrorists Walid Daqqah and Georges Abdallah, and others featuring PFLP founder George Habash and PFLP combatants Shadia Abu Ghazaleh and Al-Hussein Binyahia Tanjani. PFLP member and Addameer lawyer Salah Hammouroi helped promote the event.
    • According to Samidoun, during the event, several Samidoun representatives spoke, praising terrorists and supporting “resistance.” For example, Coordinator of Samidoun Spain Jaldia Abu Bakra stated, “the Palestinian resistance is the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people…the fedayeen [i.e., Palestinian combatants] love life and are ready to sacrifice everything for our freedom…” An unnamed member of Samidoun’s Paris chapter called for the release of Georges Abdallah, since it expresses “supporting a committed and dignified man who is faithful to his revolutionary principles and ideals.”

During the Resistance Festival, organizers set up signs reading “Resistance Festival – from the river to the sea Palestine will be free.” Posters of PFLP terrorists George Habash, Shadia Abu Ghazaleh, and Al-Hussein Binyahia Tanjani were also featured.

PFLP member and Addameer lawyer Salah Hammouri (in the middle) promoting Samidoun Brussels’ “Resistance Festival.”

  • On February 11, 2023, Samidoun Brussels held a symposium titled “From the River to the Sea: Visions of Palestinian Liberation.” According to Samidoun, “the event also served as the public launch event for the Brussels chapter of Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network.” During the event, Europe coordinator of Samidoun Mohammed Khatib stated, “the liberation of Palestine from the river to the sea has always been a central position of the Palestinian liberation movement…” and emphasized “the importance of Palestinians…rejecting the so-called ‘two-state solution.’” Another speaker, Myriam de Ly of Plate-forme Charleroi-Palestine [a Samidoun chapter in Belgium], discussed “the history of the Palestinian revolution and how the armed struggle became a symbol of the dignity of the Palestinian people…the resistance continues, as reflected in the Great March of Return, the Unity Intifada/Battle of Seif al-Quds [the Palestinian name for the 2021 Gaza conflict] and the growth of armed resistance in the West Bank.”
  • On October 29, 2022, Samidoun, along with other pro-Palestinian groups, held an event in Brussels, “the March for Return and Liberation.” During the event, multiple marchers wore headbands showing allegiance to the Lions’ Den terrorist group. Others carried posters glorifying terrorist figures. Samidoun stated, “The march demanded…the total liberation of all of Palestine from the river to the sea, stood in firm support of the Palestinian people and their Resistance (sic)…Participants saluted the Palestinian resistance, including Mohammed Deif… and the resistance movements…emphasizing the legitimacy and leadership of the Palestinian resistance.” During the event, Samidoun activist Mohammad Khatib said, “We will not accept…this rhetoric of [a] two-state solution…Only one free Palestine, from the river to the sea…We will not give up the resistance. This is our promise to the Palestinian people and to the Palestinian resistance…”
    • Deif is the leader of Hamas’ Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.
    • Samidoun also collected donations to fund “the March for Return and Liberation” event.

Top Left: signs and flags of PFLP terrorists Shadia Abu Ghazaleh and Georges Abdallah; Top Right: Masked members headbands showing allegiance to Lions’ Den and carrying a poster quoting Hamas senior member Mohammed Deif; Bottom Left: Mohammad Khatib speaking at the event next to masked men.; Bottom Right: a sign calling for the liberation of Ahmad Sa’adat

  • On October 27, 2022, members of the Samidoun Network participated in a special forum at the European Parliament, convened by MEP Manu Pineda. Samidoun “urged a complete boycott of the Israeli occupation and ending gas deals based on the exploitation of stolen Palestinian natural resources, as well as ending the EU-Israel Association Agreement…”
  • On October 21, 2022, Charleroi pour la Palestine held a demonstration “in support of Georges Abdallah.” The group stated that Mohamed Khatib also joined the demonstration. In January of the same year the group held a demonstration as part of the campaign “for the release of Ahmad Sa’adat,” and referred to him as “leader of the Palestinian prisoners’ movement as well as the Palestinian national liberation movement.”
  • On July 27, 2022, Charleroi pour la Palestine protested against “the presence of the Israeli propaganda team ‘Israel Premier Tech’” during the Tour de France. The chapter stated, “We cannot allow sport to be used to whitewash Israeli colonialism and its war crimes.”

Spain

Samidoun Spain (Samidoun España) was established in October 2020, claiming to be “committed to the liberation of the land and the Palestinian people throughout Palestine, from the river to the sea. We unconditionally support the right of Palestinians to resist colonization by any means necessary.”

Activities

  • On February 11, 2023, Samidoun, Masar Badil, AlKarama, and others organized a rally in Madrid, under the banner of “Days of Anger and Resistance.” According to Samidoun, the rally was “in defense and support of the Palestinian resistance, which in the last two weeks has faced more than 15 assassinations by the Israeli colonial army…our duty is to amplify the achievements of the Palestinian people, defending and supporting the Palestinian resistance and fighting against its criminalization.”
  • On February 8, 2023, Samidoun and several other anti-Israel groups held a protest against the presence of the Israeli ambassador to Spain Rodica Radian-Gordon at Complutense University of Madrid to mark 30 years since the signing of the Oslo Accords. During the event, multiple protestors, including Samidoun Spain members Jaldía Abu Bakra and Judit Rodríguez Fernández, attempted to approach the ambassador but were stopped by Israeli security personnel.

Left to right: Judit Rodríguez Fernández and Jaldía Abu Bakra, circled in red, participated in the protest against the Israeli ambassador and tried to approach her.

  • On August 5, 2022, Samidoun Spain shared a poster featuring senior PIJ official and  commander in northern Gaza Tayseer Al-Jabari and reading “Long live the Palestinian resistance.” Samidoun Spain wrote, “Palestinian Prisoners Solidarity Network Samidoun urges all supporters of the Palestinian cause to take action to defend Palestine, the Palestinian people and their Resistance against the Zionist attack.”
    • On August 5, 2022, Al-Jabari was killed by Israeli forces after the IDF collected intelligence about Al-Jabari’s involvement in planning significant attacks against Israel, including with the use of anti-tank missiles.

Samidoun Spain’s post supporting “Palestinian resistance” and featuring a poster with senior PIJ official Tayseer Al-Jabari

  • On July 8, 2022, Samidoun, Al-Karama and others commemorated senior PFLP leader Ghassan Kanafani, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his death. Samidoun Spain wrote, “Ghassan Kanafani was a Marxist revolutionary, spokesperson of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine…an intellectual deeply committed to the cause, as from the age of 15, he had been actively involved in the Resistance, affiliating…from 1967 to the PFLP. 50 years later we commemorate his figure, his work and his political contributions…”
  • As reported by Samidoun, on September 24-26, 2021, Samidoun Spain members participated in the celebrations of the Centennial of the Communist Party of Spain, during which its members distributed PFLP material and were in charge “of putting on the table the need to break with the Oslo consensus for a new stage of resistance…”

During celebrations of the Communist Party of Spain, Samidoun Spain disseminated PFLP materials.

Jaldía Abu Bakra (Khaldiya Abu Bakra)

Jaldía Abu Bakra is the co-founder of Samidoun Spain and a member of Samidoun Spain at least since September 2020. According to Masar Badil, Abu Bakra is the “Samidoun coordinator in Madrid.” Abu Bakra is also a member of the Monitoring Committee of Masar Badil, as of February 2022, and Masar Badil Spain Coordinator as of October 2021. Abu Bakra is also a member of the pro-BDS AlKarama Palestinian Women’s Movement (Movimiento De Mujeres Palestinas).

Supporting and Cooperating with the PFLP

  • According to Samidoun, in July 2021, “Samidoun activists and members based in Sweden, France, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands” (emphasis added) visited Lebanon, as part of a delegation called “Ghassan Kanafani Brigade.” The delegation visited the PFLP offices in Lebanon, met with PFLP members, and paid respect to PFLP terrorists, such as Ghassan Kanafani, Maher Al-Yamani and Abu Saleh Al-Assadi. Jaldía Abu Bakra participated in this delegation.

Abu Bakra (circled in red) visiting the offices of the PFLP in Lebanon.

Abu Bakra (circled in red) paying respects to deceased senior PFLP leaders Maher al-Yamani and Ghassan Kanafani.

From right to Left: Abu Bakra, Senior PFLP member Salah Salah, Senior PFLP member Samira Salah, and Samidoun coordinator in Europe and PFLP member Mohammed Khatib.

Abu Bakra (circled in red) wearing a shirt with the PFLP logo during Samidoun’s visit to Lebanon.

  • On August 1, 2021, Abu Bakra shared a picture of herself and another Samidoun activist, Judit Rodríguez Fernández, on the return flight from Samidoun’s “Ghassan Kanafani Brigade” delegation to Lebanon. Abu Bakra was wearing a Covid-19 mask with a PFLP logo.

Abu Bakra’s (circled in red) picture at the end of the Samidoun delegation to Lebanon, wearing a Covid-19 mask with a PFLP logo.

  • On April 8, 2021, Abu Bakra shared a picture of PFLP spokesperson and member of its Political Bureau Ghassan Kanafani on the anniversary of his birthday, and wrote, “’Man is ultimately a cause.’ #Ghassan_Kanafani was an exceptional man in every sense of the word… ahead of his time, creative in his expression, courageous in his fight…In the end, Ghassan was a ‘cause…’ We will not forget.”
  • On August 27, 2020, Abu Bakra shared an official PFLP poster of former PFLP General-Secretary Abu Ali Mustafa and wrote, “19th anniversary of the red eagle, Abu Ali Mustafa (1938-2001) son of the #workerclass whom he defended all his life…Abu Ali was an exceptional man, his assassination was a great loss not only for the Palestinian and Arab cause, but for the international struggle of all oppressed peoples and for the progressive international liberation movements…Rest your soul in peace comrade. Your legacy lives on.”
  • On January 7, 2020, Abu Bakra shared pictures of PFLP member Shadia Abu Ghazaleh who died while preparing a bomb for a terrorist attack in Tel Aviv in 1968. Abu Bakra wrote, “On this day we also remember the first female martyr in the contemporary Palestinian revolution: Comrade Shadia Abu Ghazaleh…She joined the Popular Front after the defeat in June 1967 when she was 18 years old…A poem by the comrade Muin Bseiso was written on her grave in Nablus: ‘If I fall, then take my place in the fight, Comrade.’”
  • On July 7, 2019, Abu Bakra shared several posters featuring PFLP senior member Ghassan Kanafani and wrote, “Remembering Ghassan Kanafani, thinker, journalist and writer of the #Palestinian resistance…Dear Comrade and teacher, you have left us your ideas like a beacon that illuminates the path to follow. WE WILL NOT FORGET.”

Abu Bakra shared an official PFLP poster of former PFLP General-Secretary Abu Ali Mustafa and wrote, “…his assassination was a great loss not only for the Palestinian and Arab cause, but for the international struggle of all oppressed peoples…”

  • On February 28, 2019, Abu Bakra shared a picture of PFLP senior leader in the West Bank Khalida Jarrar following her release from prison, and wrote, “Today I have had the best gift, the freedom of the comrade and idol of the feminist struggle and Palestine #KhalidaJarrar…”
    • On April 15, 2015, Jarrar was indicted for various offenses including active membership in a terrorist organization (the PFLP) and inciting violence through a call to kidnap Israeli soldiers. Later, in 2019, Jarrar was arrested, together with tens of other PFLP members, and convicted of membership in the terror group. The arrests took place following an August 2019 bombing by PFLP members, in which a 17-year-old Israeli civilian, Rina Shnerb, was murdered.

Supporting Terror and De-Legitimizing the State of Israel

  • On August 14, 2022, Abu Bakra shared an invitation to an event organized by Masar Badil, titled “A stance of national dignity: Palestine from the river to the sea.” Abu Bakra wrote, “on the anniversary of the disastrous Oslo Accords, we shall never give up even one inch of land from our country nor a drop of water from its waters…we invite the public…to a wide participation to return the national compass and the path of return and liberation back from the alternative of the path of negotiations, surrender and submissiveness, and to stand together in one rank against the Zionist racist colonialism and all its extermination and normalization.”
  • On July 26, 2022, Masar Badil released an interview with Abu Bakra in which she said that hostile Zionist organizations “keep trying to fabricate lies on the ties between Masar Badil and its organizations with resistance forces, and specifically Hezbollah, Hamas and PFLP. Despite the fact that we take pride in the struggle and sacrifices of Palestinian and Arab resistance forces, and we openly defend them when they face distortion campaigns in Europe, North America and elsewhere – there are no organizational or financial ties between Masar Badil and any Palestinian or Arab party.” (emphasis added)
  • On August 22, 2021, Abu Bakra shared a video of Palestinian riots at the Gaza border in which Border Policeman St.-Sgt. Barel Hadaria Shmueli was killed and hailed Shmueli’s killing. Abu Bakra wrote, “#Gaza 2021, 15 years of blockade, economic and humanitarian crisis, covid-19 and international silence. All this has not managed to take away the desire to live and fight or their desire for freedom from the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip…In this heroic act, the young Palestinians manage to grab a sniper’s gun and shoot him.”

Abu Bakra hailed the killing of Border Policeman St.-Sgt. Barel Hadaria Shmueli and called it a “heroic act.”

  • On March 29, 2020, Abu Bakra shared a Samidoun article on the Sabena plane hijacker Theresa Halsa following the latter’s death, and wrote, “Yesterday we lost the Palestinian heroine Teresa Halasa, who had the honor of having shot [former Israeli PM Benjamin] Netanyahu. Rest in peace comrade. #Palestine will not forget you.”
  • On March 6, 2020, Abu Bakra shared pictures of Basel Al-A’raj. Abu Bakra wrote, “3rd anniversary of the assassination of Basel Al-A’raj, the combative intellectual, icon of the Palestinian popular resistance…he wrote encouraging young people and intellectuals to be combative. He said ‘if you are an intellectual, you have to be combative, if you are not combative, your intellect is worth nothing…’ Basel will remain in our collective memory forever…”
    • Al-A’raj was arrested by the PA in April 2016 “for planning attacks against Israelis” and was imprisoned for six months. According to Israeli officials, he “was allegedly part of a terrorist cell planning to carry out attacks on Israeli targets,” and he “directed the cell and was responsible for purchasing the weaponry.” Al-Araj was killed by Israel police forces when he opened fire as they sought to apprehend him near Ramallah.

Judit Rodríguez Fernández

Judit Rodríguez Fernández has been an active member of Samidoun Spain at least since June 2021. Fernández has expressed her support for the PFLP and its members, incited to violence, and opposed the existence of the state of Israel.

Supporting the PFLP and its members

  • On January 15, 2023, Fernández shared a Samidoun poster for a protest advocating releasing PFLP Secretary-General Ahmad Sa’adat.

Fernández shared a Samidoun poster for a protest advocating releasing PFLP Secretary-General Ahmad Sa’adat

  • On August 27, 2022, Fernández shared an official PFLP poster commemorating the eighteenth anniversary of PFLP General-Secretary Abu Ali Mustafa’s death. The poster featured Abu Ali Mustafa’s image and read, “you are the voice.” Fernández wrote, “We’re all targets as soon as we start mobilizing. We do our best to avoid their weapons, but we live under the brutal Zionist occupation of our land and their army is within meters of us. Of course, we need to be careful, but we have a job to do and nothing will stop us.”

Fernández shared an official PFLP poster commemorating the 18th anniversary of PFLP General-Secretary Abu Ali Mustafa’s death.

  • On February 5, 2022, Fernández wrote a column published by Samidoun, in which he called PFLP terrorist Georges Abdallah “a Lebanese communist…imprisoned in France for 38 years for dedicating his life to achieving the liberation of Palestine from the colonial yoke…” On April 11, 2023, Fernández participated in a Samidoun event on the book, Manual of militancy inside and outside the jail: Georges Ibrahim Abdallah. Fernández wrote, “The book allows us to know the forms of struggle and resistance that Abdallah…deployed since he began his political activity in his native Lebanon in the 70’s until he was detained in France in 1984.”
  • Fernández participated in Samidoun’s July 2021 “Ghassan Kanafani Brigade” delegation to Lebanon, in which Samidoun activists met with PFLP members and visited and paid respect to PFLP terrorists, such as Ghassan Kanafani, Maher Al-Yamani, and Abu Saleh Al-Assadi. 

Fernández (circled in red) visiting the offices of the PFLP in Lebanon.

Fernández (circled in red) paying respects to deceased PFLP senior members Maher al-Yamani and Ghassan Kanafani.

Fernández (circled in red) with PFLP members Salah Salah and Samira Salah, together with Samidoun coordinator in Europe and a PFLP member Mohammed Khatib.

During Samidoun’s delegation to Lebanon, Fernández (circled in red) wore a shirt with the PFLP’s logo.

Supporting Terror and De-Legitimizing the State of Israel

  • On March 6, 2023, Fernández shared a Masar Badil poster featuring Basel Al-A’raj and reading, “Blessed are you, when you have stripped words and embroidered them with bullets. Blessed is the conscience of your arm that started the stage [of violence]. Blessed is your truth, inheritance for generations. Blessed is your blood, our continuous guide to the homeland.” Fernández posted a Spanish translation to the poster.
    • Al-A’raj was arrested by the PA in April 2016 “for planning attacks against Israelis” and was imprisoned for six months. According to Israeli officials, he “was allegedly part of a terrorist cell planning to carry out attacks on Israeli targets,” and he “directed the cell and was responsible for purchasing the weaponry.” Al-Araj was killed by Israel police forces when he opened fire as they sought to apprehend him near Ramallah.
  • On January 26, 2023, Fernández shared a Samidoun poster reading “Jenin is mourning, but resisting.” Fernández wrote, “This morning January 26, a new massacre has taken place in Jenin at the hands of the Israeli occupation army… we condemn the Zionist colonial apparatus and all the tentacles that collaborate and legitimize the regime. We salute the Palestinian resistance, especially in Jenin, and embrace the bravery of the martyrs wishing rest and perseverance to their families. From the river to the sea, resistance to liberation and return.”
  • On November 9, 2022, Fernández shared pictures of Mahdi Mohammed Hashash and wrote, “Respect to the sons of the camps, uncomfortable sons of misery. Memory, justice and peace for young people, today leaders of the resistance. Glory to Mahdi Hashash, killed at 15 fighting Israeli scum.”
  • On August 9, 2022, following the 2022 conflict in Gaza between Israel and PIJ, Fernández shared an invitation for a joint Samidoun, Masar Badil and AlKarama event titled “in solidarity with Gaza.” Fernández  wrote, “…the people continue to intensify the resistance in the streets of Gaza, Jenin, Nablus, Jerusalem, Haifa, etc., proving that Palestine is one and that the resistance will continue until Palestine is liberated from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.”

Switzerland

The Samidoun Geneva branch has been active at least since June 2023, although Samidoun and its representatives have officially conducted and participated in pro-Palestinian activities in Switzerland since at least February 2022. According to Samidoun, a national chapter called Samidoun Suisse (Samidoun Switzerland) also exists, although this might actually refer to its Geneva chapter.

Activities

  • According to several news sources, following the disbanding of Samidoun by Germany on November 2, 2023, members of the organization fled to Switzerland in order to avoid facing charges on German soil.
  • According to Samidoun, on May 18-21, 2023, Collectif Palestine Vaincra participated in the left-wing Les Dissidentes festival in La Sarraz Switzerland. During the festival CPV representatives “addressed the commitment to the liberation of Palestine from the river to the sea as an integral part of anti-imperialist struggle.” CPV also co-hosted “a discussion following the screening of Fedayin, the fight of Georges Abdalla…the Collectif underlined that supporting his release is not only supporting a man who has remained faithful to his revolutionary principles despite nearly 39 years in prison, but is also supporting the Palestinian people and the legitimacy of their resistance.”
  • On May 25-27, 2023, Samidoun planned to carry out an event titled “Exhibition of posters of the Palestinian resistance” in Geneva. On May 21, 2023, Samidoun stated, “As part of the days of action for the 75th anniversary of the Nakba, Secours Rouge Geneve, in collaboration with Samidoun, is organizing an exhibition of posters by Marc Rudin [who]…was part of the Palestinian liberation struggle for years. His political posters were published under the logo of the PFLP…On Thursday, May 25, during the opening, we are organizing a discussion on support for the Palestinian resistance with Mohammed Khatib, coordinator of Samidoun…”
    • On May 25, 2023, Samidoun stated, “…Less than 48 hours before the opening of the exhibition…On the phone, we are told that the cancellation of our exhibition is the result of foreign Zionist organizations, under whose yoke the City of Geneva is placed…More than ever, let us strengthen our support for all forms of resistance of the Palestinian people, past, present and future! From boycott to armed struggle, their right to resistance is inalienable. In its anti-imperialist and anti-colonial nature, the struggle of our comrades against Israel is also our struggle!…”
    • On June 28, 2023, Samidoun again publicized a series of events titled, “exhibition of posters of the palestinian resistance by Marc Rudin” from June 30 to July 8 in  Geneva. Samidoun stated, “….the exhibition is now back with a longer program and more activities. The exhibition is sponsored by Secours Rouge Geneve and Samidoun Geneva,” and was participated by PFLP member and Samidoun’s coordinator in Europe Mohammed Khatib.
  • On August 27-28, 2022, Samidoun held a panel and a demonstration in Basel “to confront the 125th anniversary of the Zionist Congress in Basel.” Among the speakers in the panel was PFLP member and Samidoun’s coordinator in Europe Mohammed Khatib. According to Samidoun, “Zionism was inherently conquest oriented from the moment of its birth and is the ideological basis behind the ethnic cleansing and forced expulsion of over 750 000 Palestinians during the Nakba in 1948 and the near-total destruction of Palestinian society in 1948…the Palestinians living in Switzerland and we, the supporters of the Palestinians call on the city of Basel to stop hosting the Zionist Congress and to acknowledge its responsibility for the establishment of the Israeli aprtheid-regime on stolen Palestinian land.”

Sweden

According to Samidoun, the group has three chapters in Sweden: Samidoun Gothenburg, Samidoun Stockholm, and Samidoun Malmo. According to Samidoun Sweden’s website, “After Ahed Tamimi’s release in the summer of 2018, the action group Freedom for Ahed Tamimi Gothenburg became a local group in the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network.” Samidoun Sweden also notes that “Samidoun Stockholm was formed in the spring of 2020 after discussions about the need for a new anti-imperialism as a central point in the radical left.” According to Samidoun, the group’s branch in Malmo was established in 2021.

Activities

  • On October 6, 2023, Samidoun Sweden announced an event titled, “Book Circle: Strategy for the Liberation of Palestine.” The event invitation states, “How should the occupation of Palestine and the Palestinian liberation struggle be understood historically but also from a contemporary radical leftist perspective? Join us as we read a foundational text, Strategy for the Liberation of Palestine, compiled by the People’s Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) at its founding!…we will also have a number of physical copies to the meeting for sale.”
  • On July 1, 2023, Samidoun announced an upcoming event to be held on July 8, in Göteborg, Sweden,  in honor of senior PFLP terrorist Ghassan Kanadani. According to Samidoun’s statement, “Marking 51 years since the assassination of Ghassan Kanafani by the Israeli occupation, we invite you to an afternoon of revolutionary culture. We will show films about and from Palestine and we will exhibit art by the international revolutionary and artist Marc Rudin (1945-2023) who worked in the spirit of Ghassan in all arenas of liberation…Ghassan Kanafani was a Palestinian revolutionary liberation leader, a prominent member of the PFLP, and a non-fiction and fiction writer…”
  • On January 31, 2022, Samidoun Sweden issued a statement, “Freedom for Ahmad Sa’adat! Conference and Square meeting in Stockholm.” According to Samidoun Sweden, “To mark the anniversary of the Palestinian Authority’s imprisonment of Ahmad Sa’adat, the Samidoun network has organized a week of action for the freedom of Ahmad Sa’adat and all Palestinian prisoners . Samidoun Stockholm and Gothenburg took to the streets of Stockholm to show solidarity and demand freedom for Ahmad Sa’adat and all Palestinian prisoners. We positioned ourselves in Sergels Torg to hand out leaflets and talk to people about Sa’adat, the prisoners and the ongoing ethnic cleansing in Naqab and Sheikh Jarrah …We demand the unconditional return of all Palestinian refugees and national liberation from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.” During the activities, Samidoun Sweden members held Samidoun and PFLP flags.

amidoun Sweden members holding Samidoun and PFLP flags during the “free [PFLP Secretary-General] Ahmad Sa’adat” activities.

  • On December 12, 2021, Samidoun Sweden shared a picture of activists holding a sign that reads in Swedish “Long live the resistance and the Palestinian prisoners” and features the PFLP logo. Samidoun Sweden stated, “On Thursday, Israeli forces stormed various parts of Jerusalem, arresting seven people, some in their homes. Among these are leading figures and former prisoners from the resistance (leader of the national revolutionary left Nasser Abu-Khudhair and the national commander Abdul Latif Ghaith)…The arrested Jerusalemites have been arrested for fighting against the Israeli colonial power that continues to expand its occupation of Palestine and maintains an apartheid system that displaces and oppresses the Palestinians in their own land…Palestinians have the right to fight against their oppressors. Therefore, we wish to express our deepest solidarity with the seven Jerusalemites and the Palestinian freedom struggle, and a total condemnation of Israel and its colonial project.”

Activists with a sign that read “Long live the resistance and the Palestinian prisoners” and features the PFLP’s logo, posted by Samidoun Sweden.

  • On September 18, 2021, Samidoun Stockholm’s Facebook page shared pictures of its members disseminating pro-PFLP materials and calling to boycott PUMA in Skärholmen. They wrote, “BOYCOTT PUMA! Samidoun Stockholm has been in Skärholmen and spread information for the International Day to Boycott Puma. The company actively participates in supporting Israeli apartheid by sponsoring football teams in the illegal and colonial settlements. We need to reject Israel’s attempts to legitimize its occupation through international sporting events.” During the activity, Samidoun Stockholm disseminated materials calling to free PFLP senior members Ahmad Sa’adat and Khalida Jarrar and showcased the PFLP flag.

Samidoun Stockholm members disseminating pro-PFLP materials and showcasing a PFLP flag.

Greece

Samidoun Greece has been active since at least August 2018.12

Qays Hamad

Qays Hamad has held the role of coordinator of Samidoun Greece since August 2018.13

Supporting and Cooperating with the PFLP

  • On December 12, 2021, Hamad shared a Samidoun update on its campaign titled, “20 years to his kidnapping: ‘Samidoun announces the international week of solidarity of [Ahmed] Sa’adat and the prisoners.”
  • In January 2019, Hamad participated in Samidoun Greece’s demonstration calling for the “freedom of [PFLP Secretary-General] Ahmad Sa’adat.”

Delegitimization of Israel and Supporting the Use of Violence

  • On March 29, 2022, Hamad shared a picture of Diaa Hamarsheh, a Palestinian terrorist who murdered five people in a shooting attack in Bnei Brak on March 29, 2022. Hamad wrote, “Armed struggle is the path for freedom and liberation. Go on, oh hero, Allah will give us someone in your place and will unite us on your path and may he grant us what he granted upon you (blessed with martyrdom).”

Hamad praising terrorist Diaa Hamarsheh and wishing for more people to follow his actions.

  • On July 23, 2022, Hamad shared a poster reading “Death to Israel” in Persian and Arabic, and “Down with Israel” in English. Hamad also wrote, “Down with Israel.”

Hamad shared a poster reading “Death to Israel” in Persian and Arabic, and “Down with Israel” in English.

  • On November 28, 2021, Hamad posted, “Palestine, all of Palestine, from the river to the sea.”
  • On September 11, 2021, Hamad tweeted, “The path of armed struggle is one with no deviations, even if there will be accusations.”
  • On September 6, 2021, Hamad shared the pictures of six terrorists who escaped from Israeli prison, and tweeted, “Six heroes escape from Israeli prisons through a tunnel.”
    • On September 6, 2021, six Palestinian prisoners, affiliated with the PIJ and Fatah’s military wing, escaped Gilboa prison. Collectively, the prisoners were responsible for the murder of numerous Israelis in deadly shooting attacks and bombings.
  • On May 10, 2021, Hamad shared a picture of Israel and tweeted, “We want it from the river to the sea #and Jerusalem_is_the_capital_of_Palestine.”
  • On May 10, 2021, Hamad shared a poster showing the Israeli national flag and a weapon, and reading “We Will Erase It.”

Hamad shared a poster with Israel’s national flag, reading “we will erase it.”