For banned speaker Mohammed Khatib, Palestinian violence against Israel is justified

This article was last updated on October 25, 2024

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For banned speaker Khatib, Palestinian violence against Israel is justified

The cabinet includes pro-Palestinian activist Mohammed Khatib denied entry to the Netherlands, it was announced this morning. Khatib was scheduled to speak at a meeting at Radboud University in Nijmegen on Monday. But ministers Faber and Van Weel say that his statements could have a radicalizing effect and have therefore decided to refuse him. The lecture doesn’t happen. Who is Khatib and what does he stand for?

Mohammed Khatib (Lebanon, 1990) is the European leader of Samidoun (steadfastness), a movement that claims to stand up for (the liberation of) Palestinian prisoners. He grew up in a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon and fled to Belgium in 2010, where he was granted asylum. There he founded with others Samidoun on, which now has branches in ten countries.

Khatib’s statements have regularly caused a stir, especially since the terrorist attacks by Hamas in October 2023. Also the connection with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which is on the EU terrorism list state is controversial. A procedure is underway in Belgium to declare him an undesirable alien and Samidoun has been sent to Germany, Canada and the US forbidden.

End of Israel

The Flemish broadcaster VRT Khatib said in AprilIn that interview he says that Samidoun is proud of the bond with the PFLP, but denies that he himself is a member of that group. He mentions militant movements that are on the EU terror list (such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad) as Palestinian political organizations that are part of Palestinian society and that represent an important part of the Palestinian people.

Khatib believes what happened on October 7, 2023 was “a normal response from a population that has been under siege since 2006 and has lived under colonial rule since 1948.” He is against a two-state solution and wants the state of Israel, which was founded in 1948, to disappear.

The activist sees Palestinian violence against Israel as justified resistance. “Every day, settlers occupy more and more Palestinian land. That is illegal. To counter this, Palestinians have the right to arm themselves.” He praises the attacks on October 7, as he did recently at a meeting in Madrid. In another interview he says in so many words that all residents of Israel are targets. “Anyone who participates in the catastrophe against the Palestinians may pay a price.”

Watch the VRT report about Samidoun here, including the interview with Khatib:

Ministers Faber and Van Weel point to such statements as a reason for refusing his arrival. Khatib “legitimizes, condones and glorifies violence against the State of Israel, including violence by organizations on the European Union’s terrorist list,” the statement said. “He also actively expresses his support for terrorist organizations.” They think that Samidoun is sowing hatred and spreads anti-Semitism.

One of the organizers of the meeting in Nijmegen does not agree with this. “He is neither a hate preacher nor an anti-Semite,” says associate professor of ethics and political philosophy Anya Topolski the Nijmegen university magazine Vox. “He criticizes Zionism, which is justifiable and not a crime. The same applies to his criticism of the state of Israel. He does not say anything that is illegal, but it can cause some chafing and strong emotions.”

Also Radboud University stated this week that “controversial, offensive or distasteful views that are not in themselves unlawful are generally not grounds for refusing a speaker.”

I would not recommend anyone in the Netherlands to join this organization.

Prime Minister Schoof

The Cabinet and Chamber see this differently. Two weeks ago the House of Representatives adopted a motion by SGP and JA21 (supported by PVV, VVD, NSC, BBB, CDA and ChristenUnie) to put Samidoun on the terror list. Prime Minister Schoof then announced that Minister Van Weel was entering into discussions with the Public Prosecution Service to ban Samidoun.

“I would not recommend anyone in the Netherlands to join this organization,” said Sheaf. “The glorification of terrorist organizations has nothing to do with standing up for the rights of Palestinians.”

The previous cabinet made another decision in the spring, when questions arose from Parliament about Khatib’s visit to Amsterdam. Outgoing minister Yesilgöz, Van Weel’s predecessor, wrote that there were insufficient grounds to conclude that Khatib “poses a real, present and sufficiently serious threat to a fundamental interest of society”.