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.”
  • Al-A’raj was arrested by the PA in April 2016 “for planning attacks against Israelis” and imprisoned for six months. According to Israeli officials, he “was allegedly part of a terrorist cell planning to carry out attacks on Israeli targets.” Al-Araj was killed in March 2017 when he opened fire at Israeli forces seeking to apprehend him.

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 18^th 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 19^th anniversary of the martyrdom of the great patriotic and national commander Abu Ali Mustafa.”
• Barakat participated in a December 15, 2019 event celebrating the 52^nd 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.”
  • In 1978, Dalal Mugrabi, a Palestinian terrorist, murdered 38 civilians, including 13 children in the Coastal Road Massacre.
  • PFLP member Shadia Abu Ghazaleh died while preparing a bomb for a terrorist attack in Tel Aviv in 1968.
  • Khaled Nazzal masterminded the 1974 “Ma’alot Massacre,” in which Palestinian terrorists murdered 22 school children and 4 adults in an assault on Israeli schoolchildren on a field trip.
• 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.”
  • Odeh served 10 years in prison for her role in a 1968 bombing attack at a Jerusalem supermarket that murdered two American students. In 2014, Odeh was stripped of U.S. citizenship and sentenced to 18 months in prison for immigration fraud after concealing her role in the bombing.

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.”

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

• On May 15, 2023, Samidoun and other anti-Israel groups organized a Nakba Day demonstration in Vancouver. Samidoun members and protesters held signs supporting senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad members (PIJ) killed in gun battles with the IDF, and advocated for the release of PFLP Secretary-General Ahmad Sa’adat and PFLP member Walid Daqqah.
  • In a statement issued 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.”  (emphasis added)
  • During the demonstration, Khaled Barakat stated, “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.” According to Samidoun, Barakat “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)
• 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])

Leaders in France

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 53^rd 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.”
  • Fusako Shigenobu co-founded the Japanese Red Army terrorist organization, which carried out 1972 Lod Airport Massacre alongside the PFLP, in which 26 people were killed and dozens injured.
• 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.

Hofland (circled in red) calling 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.

Leaders in the Netherlands

Thomas Hofland

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

Supporting the PFLP

• In July 2021. Holfland participated in a delegation of European Samidoun acitvisits to Lebanon, where they visited the PFLP offices in Lebanon, met with PFLP members, and paid respects to PFLP terrorists.

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.

• In September 2019, Ahmed participated in the Belgian ManiFiesta festival, distributing the PFLP’s “Strategy for the Liberation of Palestine” and advocating the release of PFLP terrorist Georges Abdallah, who was sentenced by a French court to life in prison for “complicity in the assassinations” of a US military attaché and an Israeli diplomat in Paris in 1982.

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

• 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.

Activities

• 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 43^rd 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…”

Belgium

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

Activities

• 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.”