Belgian Member of Parliament Michael Freilich welcomed the decision. “The time for excuses is over. When you glorify the murder of young festival-goers and call it resistance, you have no place in a civilized democracy,” he said.
The General Commission for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGRA) has revoked the refugee status enjoyed by the coordinator of the Samidoun network for Europe, Mohammed Khatib, Belgian news agency Belga reported.
Khatib has been in Belgium since 2015.
Last year, the Immigration Office requested the revocation of Mohammed Khatib’s asylum. The Belgian authorities criticize him for his activities within this organization, which defines itself as an ‘’international solidarity network for Palestinian prisoners.”
According to daily Le Soir, the man, who is of Palestinian origin, is listed by the Coordination and Analysis of Threats Unit (OCAM) as a “preacher of hate” and intends to appeal the CGRA’s decision.
Samidoun is in the government’s sights, which has repeatedly cited it as one of the organizations that could be banned under the new measures targeting radical and extremist organizations proposed by Interior Minister Bernard Quintin. The government approved the draft bill before the parliamentary recess.
Belgian Member of Parliament Michael Freilich, also serving as Special Envoy for Intercultural Dialogue and Holocaust Remembrance at the European Jewish Association (EJA), welcomed the decision.
“The time for excuses is over. When you glorify the murder of young festival-goers and call it resistance, you have no place in a civilized democracy,” Freilich said in a press release. “This man openly justifies terrorism and calls the slaughter of civilians legitimate. I applaud the Belgian authorities for sending a clear signal: no more tolerance for hate preachers.”
Khatib had justified the October 7, 2023 massacre committed by Hamas in Israel, calling it “a normal reaction of a population living under colonialism.”
Just one day after Hamas terrorists descended by paraglider on the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023 – killing, mutilating and abducting hundreds of young people – Samidoun published a celebratory image showing a paraglider with the slogan “From the river to the sea.” The image was interpreted worldwide as praising the massacre, which included the slaughter of concertgoers in cold blood.
“This wasn’t a mistake or a nuance. This was calculated glorification of terror, posted the very next day,” said Freilich. “While the bodies were still being counted, Samidoun was celebrating the murderers as heroes.”
Samidoun has already been banned in Germany for glorifying terrorism and spreading antisemitism. The United States and Canada sanctioned it in 2024 as a front for fundraising and propaganda on behalf of the PFLP. In the Netherlands, Parliament passed a resolution urging the government to officially designate Samidoun as a terrorist organization.
“If our allies are banning or sanctioning Samidoun for terrorist support, Belgium must not remain a blind spot in Europe,” Freilich said.
Khatib has announced that he will appeal the decision to revoke his refugee status. He also retains UNRWA refugee recognition under international law, which could complicate any efforts to deport him quickly.