Hamas leader hosted as honorable speaker at PFLP-linked webinar

Masar Badil, an organization affiliated with the widely designated terror organization PFLP, hosted a webinar featuring Basem Naim, a prominent leader in Hamas, who left his constituents in the Gaza Strip before the October 7 massacre, heading to safety abroad.

The two-hour-long webinar featured opening remarks from Charlotte Kates, a Canadian national serving as the international coordinator of Samidoun. This organization was designated by Israel in 2021 for acting on behalf of and sharing staff and personnel with the PFLP; and internationally they have also had their funding channels blocked by US credit clearing companies, supposedly for their terror-related activities.

In her remarks, Kates commended the “heroic operation on October 7,” lauded vandalism against industries tied to Israel abroad, and implicitly praised the kidnapping of Israeli hostages, deeming them “captives and prisoners of war” and arguing that “the only successful way to achieve the liberation of Palestinian prisoners is by conducting a prisoner exchange with the Palestinian resistance.”

Kates also openly admitted that she had met with Naim in person last December in South Africa at an event that gathered representatives of Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad; and which was led by Mandla Mandela and “The Global Campaign to Return to Palestine,” an organization with ties to Hezbollah.

Another speaker at the webinar who gave the closing remarks was Brussels-based Mohammed Khatib, who serves as the European coordinator of Samidoun and another one of its fronts named Masar Badil, and who is also referred to as a PFLP activist in several outlets, including the very website of the PFLP.

Khatib commended Naim and Hamas as real “representatives of the Palestinian people,” deemed October 7 as “a glorious day for the Palestinian people” and lauded “Jews who call ‘From the river to the sea,” calling to establish a direct connection between Palestinians abroad and the “Palestinian resistance.”

It’s worth noting that both Canada and the European Union have designated Hamas and the PFLP as terrorist organizations.

Naim from his hiding place abroad: “The price Gaza paid is high, but it must be paid”

During his speech, Naim defended the “armed resistance” and denounced the West’s designation of Hamas as a terrorist organization. He explained that October 7 came after 75 years of occupation and alleged that the Palestinians “gave the international community 30 years to try and reach a peaceful solution through the Oslo Accords.”

He then proceeded to denounce the Abraham Accords and argued that the Palestinians were worried that such accords would lead to an erasure of the Palestinian cause, and “people would talk about Palestine the way we talk about (Muslim) Andalusia."

Therefore, he argued, there was a “need for a move that’s out of the box,” which aimed to force the Palestinian issue back to the table. Naim also admitted in his remarks that, while political conditions were behind the choice of the timing of October 7, the massacre itself was twenty years in the making, pointing at the two-decade-long tunnel-digging projects, as well as the process of acquiring weapons and training.

Naim praised the October 7 attack, claiming that it has achieved much more than Hamas were expecting, and elaborating on the perceived accomplishments of the attack. According to him, this was the first time Israel was attacked and the Palestinians were the attackers, who decided on the timing and who faced Israel with their weapons, fighters, and even media.

Naim also claimed that the attack defeated the Israeli narrative which claimed that Israel was “the safest place for Jews around the world,” showing that they were not able to defend the Jews; while on the other hand many Jews across the world today choose to disassociate themselves from Israel.

Naim also alleged that the October 7 attack prevented an alleged US plan in which the Americans were to withdraw from the Middle East and leave Israel to “administer” the area “militarily, politically and economically for their benefit.”

Another achievement claimed by Naim was that after October 7, “freeing Palestine suddenly seemed possible.” He asserted that the Israeli operation in Gaza which has been ongoing for five months is an achievement in and of itself, adding that great losses suffered in Gazan are an opportunity to present Israel not as a democracy, but rather as a “racist, fascist state” which doesn’t abide by international law.

Additionally, he listed the ICJ case tabled by South Africa and a larger consensus among Palestinians towards “the resistance” as additional accomplishments.

Interestingly, Naim also admitted openly that Hamas was using civilians as human shields, as he claimed that those several hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who remained in the northern part of the Gaza Strip despite Israel’s calls to evacuate “protect the resistance.” Lastly, from his hiding place abroad, he added that the price that Gazans pay is indeed a high one, but “this is a price which must be paid.”

Belgian and Canadian Jewish representatives: ‘Leniency paves the way for terrorist organizations, endangers Jewish communities’

Michael Freilich, Member of the Belgian Parliament from the New Flemish Alliance Party, commented on the webinar: “Samidoun Brussels keeps on persistently crossing boundaries with its incitement, explicit calls to violence, and unabashed support for terrorism. Only a few days ago they held an event that was advertised under the banner ‘globalize the intifada’ and called for the ‘normalization of armed resistance’.”

Freilich added that the fact that Samidoun’s leadership in Brussels is at the same time affiliated with the PFLP is “alarming,” adding that “we know this because the PFLP does not shy away from this on their platforms.” He also reminded that Naim was previously denied entry into Belgium in 2007; also echoing the recent Belgian Justice Minister's admission of active Hamas operatives engaging in financial and lobbying activities within Belgium.

Freilich added: “The Belgian government's inertia in this context is indefensible. This leniency paves the way for terrorist organizations and compromises the safety of Europe particularly endangering the Jewish community. It is also a manifest threat to the entire European Union. I urge EU Member States to stand in solidarity and confront the Belgian federal government with immediate, decisive protests demanding substantial action. Past appeals from myself and the Jewish community have been disregarded, making international pressure indispensable to incite change and uphold security.”

From the Canadian perspective, Richard Marceau, Vice-President of External Affairs & General Counsel at the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), commented:

“For years, CIJA has called on the Canadian Government to list Samidoun as a terrorist entity, as other countries have done, for its continued promotion of hatred and violence against the Jewish community, and its overt ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist group – a listed terrorist entity in Canada. That a registered not-for-profit in Canada and its leadership, Khaled Barakat and Charlotte Kates, continue to operate without impunity while openly raising money for other PFLP-tied entities and hosting events that glorify terror, incite violence and radicalize Canadians is deeply concerning.

“The organization's participation in an event with a senior member of Hamas, and Kate's own words praising Hamas' barbaric massacre and the kidnapping of innocents and admission to meeting with a terrorist in person, must erase any remaining questions about Samidoun's mission and allegiances. The Canadian government must list Samidoun as a terrorist entity; it has all the evidence and intelligence in its hands. Inaction now is inexplicable.”