Today, July 16, 2024, Samidoun’s Europe coordinator, Mohammed Khatib, has been called for a hearing before the Belgian asylum office, after he – a Palestinian refugee born in Ein el Helweh refugee camp in Lebanon – has been targeted for political repression, with the Belgian Minister of Immigration, Nicole de Moor, seeking to withdraw his refugee status in the country due to his activism and organizing for Palestinian liberation.
- Read the full Samidoun statement: Hands off Mohammed Khatib! Stand with Palestine!
Of course, Mohammed’s case is not unique – there are dozens of cases in neighbouring Germany, where Palestinians and supporters of Palestine face daily police violence, severe repression, political bans, and numerous attempts to strip residency status or impose deportation, often times upon Palestinian refugees who, like Mohammed, have been denied their right to return to their homeland, Palestine, since birth.
The asylum office has refused to provide Mohammed and his lawyer with evidence and documentation as to why the asylum office is seeking to withdraw his residency and status, despite numerous requests and filings with the court. Instead, the Belgian government has insisted that they do not need to turn over the files from the “state security” office, creating a form of “secret evidence” akin to that used to hold Palestinians under administrative detention in occupied Palestine. All of this is made even more outrageous by the note by Belgian public broadcaster VRT in an interview with Mohammed Khatib that “the security services mainly estimate that the organization [Samidoun] can damage Belgian international relations with Israel.”
The allegations against Mohammed read like Zionist propaganda or a statement from NGO Monitor or the Zionist ambassador to Belgium, showing no regard for fundamental principles of human rights or international law and instead seeking to criminalize Palestinian existence, resistance and organizing.
They include his status as the European coordinator of Samidoun, citing that the Zionist regime labels Samidoun a “terrorist organization,” something that has no legal status or meaning in Belgium. Further, they target his role in the Masar Badil, the Palestinian Alternative Revolutionary Path Movement, labeling it an “extremist organization” because of its clear position on the liberation of Palestine from the river to the sea and the legitimacy of the Palestinian armed resistance forces.
They cite his public speeches and activities about Palestinian armed struggle – a right recognized by the United Nations for people under colonization and specifically the Palestinian people – as a reason to strip him, a stateless Palestinian refugee, of his protection in Belgium. Perhaps most egregiously, they state, on the basis of no evidence at all, that he “calls to target Jews around the world,” despite the fact that Mohammed has never spoken of “Jews” as the enemy but only Zionism, imperialism and colonialism, and they are unable to produce even a single statement to back up this charge, which relies entirely on the conflation of Judaism and Zionism.
We note that this is not only an attempt to target Mohammed as an individual and Samidoun as an organization. It is primarily an attempt to silence the growing, massive voice of the people standing together with Palestine against genocide. It aims specifically to silence the movement to liberate Palestinian prisoners and to uphold the legitimacy and justice of the Palestinian resistance, especially the armed resistance, as part of the international, Arab and Palestinian global intifada.
Mohammed has received widespread support in Belgium and internationally. Over 250 academics wrote an open letter denouncing the targeting of refugee status on the basis of political activity: “In this case, Nicole de Moor’s announcement is targeted at delegitimizing the Palestinian struggle and support for Palestine in Belgium. In Belgium, everyone, refugee or not, Palestinian or not, must be free to express themselves and to organize, must be free to defend the Palestine cause, the right of return of the Palestinian refugees to their land, or to denounce the genocide in Gaza.”
The Plate-forme Charleroi-Palestine declared, “These attacks should seriously worry all those who carry out militant political and social work, who oppose imperialism and challenge capitalism; all those who fight for new rights or the defense of acquired rights; all those who oppose austerity. These attacks against Samidoun today are part of the current and future attacks against all these social movements, they carry the violence of censorship, and aim to make us accept resignation as normality.”
Bruxelles Pantheres issued a strong statement in solidarity with Mohammed calling for escalating the movement for Palestinian liberation in order to confront repression. Een Andere Joodse Stern (Another Jewish Voice) issued a statement, No to the political silencing of Palestinian refugees! In the statement, they note that Mohammed’s case presents a “template for racial discrimination against refugees” and note that it seems to be responsive to the comments of the Israeli ambassador to Belgium amid the genocide in Gaza.
The Union des Progressistes Juifs de Belgique issued a statement in support of Mohammed, noting that “This smear campaign does not only target him personally; it endangers freedom of expression, freedom of the press and freedom of association for everyone in Belgium.” The Association Belgo-Palestine penned an open letter to de Moor noting that the attack on Mohammed is an attempt to criminalize solidarity with Palestine.
LABO vzw, the Centre for Critical Citizenship, issued a statement of support for Mohammed: “Currently Israel is committing genocide in Palestine. It is crucial that we can continue to express our support for Palestine in Belgium and organize for it. These rights must be protected. As LABO, we therefore condemn the application to revoke Mohammed Khatib’s refugee status and express our support for Mohammed and Samidoun.”
Lotta Basel in Switzerland released a statement in support of Mohammed, who was nearly simultaneously targeted by Swiss authorities, who issued a 10-year travel ban against him, seemingly at the request of the Zionist regime. Over 20 Swiss organizations issued a joint statement denouncing this form of silencing targeted at the entire Palestinian movement in Switzerland and Europe.
The Front d’action revolutionnaire issued a statement in solidarity with Mohammed and Samidoun, labeling the attacks as ones upon “the entirety of the revolutionary camp.” Leiden for Palestine urged support for Mohammed drawing attention from the Netherlands to this disturbing action in Belgium.
Mohammed participated in and spoke at student encampments for Palestine throughout Belgium and the Netherlands following the announcement by de Moor, refusing to be silent alongside his comrades in Samidoun Brussels, Samidoun Belgium, the Plate-forme Charleroi-Palestine, ZIN TV, the Popular Committee for Palestine, the Masar Badil and other organizations and movements subjected to repression.
Let us be clear: No matter what the decision of the asylum office hearing on July 16, Mohammed Khatib and Samidoun will not stop nor silence our work for the liberation of Palestine from the river to the sea, the liberation of all Palestinian prisoners, and to build the widest possible for support for the struggle of the Palestinian people, led by the armed resistance, until liberation and return.
TAKE ACTION:
- The most important thing to do is to continue and escalate mobilizations, direct actions, encampments and all forms of organizing to bring an end to the genocide in Gaza and liberation for Palestine. Within that context, take a stand against repression and speak about this and other cases in your area.
- Sign on to the campaign in support of Mohammed. Click here or use the form below to add your support!
- Issue a statement of solidarity. Organizations like Charleroi Pour La Palestine, LABO, UPJB, Bruxelles Pantheres, ABP, have done so already. Issue your own statement and make it clear that Nicole de Moor does not speak for the people.
- Invite Mohammed to speak. Whether this is a local event in Belgium or elsewhere in Europe or a virtual event, Mohammed can speak about his case and the broader struggle for liberation. Email us at supportmohammed@samidoun.net to plan an event.
- Speak about the Palestinian prisoners and about the Resistance. Highlight the cases of Palestinian prisoners and their ongoing struggle for freedom and liberation. Emphasize the demands of the Palestinian people and their resistance for the liberation of Palestinian prisoners in a real prisoner exchange. Emphasize the legitimacy of the Palestinian resistance in your demonstrations and actions.
- Demand to delist Palestinian, Lebanese resistance organizations from “terrorist lists” in the United States, European Union, Canada, Britain and other countries. These organizations represent the will and commitment of the Palestinian people to liberate their land from an illegitimate Zionist occupation. These listings are used not only to justify the ongoing Zionist genocide and imperialist funding and support but also to target Palestinian and solidarity activists and organizations.