Mahmoud Khalil quotes slain Al Jazeera correspondent allegedly aligned with Hamas at ‘March for Humanity' protest
Khalil, 30, stood on the library steps and gave a 20-minute speech in which he talked about Anas al-Sharif, an Al Jazeera correspondent who was killed during an Israeli missile strike last week.
Israel has said al-Sharif was running a Hamas terrorist cell, which he and Al Jazeera repeatedly denied.
Khalil recalled al-Sharif's final words and proclaimed to the crowd of roughly 2,000 — at least one of whom was sporting the green headband worn by members of Hamas' Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, a wing of the terrorist group in the Gaza Strip — 'The time is now, the bridges towards liberation start with us.'
The protestors marched from the library through the streets of Manhattan to Columbus Circle.
4 Mahmoud Khalil spoke at a pro-Palestine protest in Midtown Manhattan early Saturday afternoon.
Michael Nigro
The former Columbia University student made national headlines when he was detained by Immigration Customs and Enforcement in March for posing an alleged threat to national security interests.
He was released in late June from a detention center in Louisiana, after a judge declared his arrest unconstitutional.
4 Khalil quoted an Al Jazeera correspondent killed in an airstrike last week.
REUTERS
Khalil came under fire for bizarrely trying to justify the Oct. 7, 2023 massacre that sparked the Israel-Hamas War during an interview with the New York Times.
The grisly attack, which left roughly 1,200 dead and saw 251 abducted, was a 'desperate attempt' by Hamas to 'just to break the cycle' of the Palestinian plight, he claimed during the Aug. 6 interview.
He also refused to call the attack a 'mistake,' but noted that 'targeting civilians is wrong.'
The statements prompted politicians, including Rep. Elise Stefanik, to declare Khalil should be 'immediately deported.'
4 Some protesters arrived decked out in Hamas garb.
Michael Nigro
'Naturalized citizenship is an earned privilege of our nation, and he has not earned it. The government should continue taking every lawful step necessary to remove this enemy from the United States,' Brooklyn Assemblyman Kalman Yeger told The Post last week.
Critics lambasted Khalil as a fraud.
4 The slain reporter had alleged ties with Hamas, the Israeli Defense Force said.
Leonardo Munoz/AFP via Getty Images
'Mahmoud Khalil is not a hero. He's a f–king shill that so many are romanticizing as some Robin Hood. He's out here saying my people getting gleefully butchered was worth it and you have idiots in Congress taking selfies with him and crying over him? Please be serious,' one user wrote on X.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
6 minutes ago
- New York Post
Russiagate prosecutions a must, DSA ties should disqualify and other commentary
Conservative: Russiagate Prosecutions a Must 'Damning evidence' now shows 'conclusively' that 'Russiagate was a conspiracy — hatched, implemented and relentlessly promoted by top officials in the CIA, FBI and across the Obama-Biden-Clinton political machine to rig a presidential election and undermine a duly elected president,' fumes Tom Fitton at The Hill. And it corrupted 'institutions essential to protecting American liberty.' Yet 'those responsible' remain unpunished. CIA chief John Brennan and National Intelligence boss James Clapper 'lied to Congress and the American public.' Top 'Justice Department officials, such as Bruce Ohr,' acted as 'a conduit for anti-Trump smears.' James Comey and other 'leaders at the FBI' used 'the intelligence community's credibility to spread what they knew to be their own fiction as if it were truth.' 'America is a republic, not a banana republic. It's time for accountability, reform and a sharp reminder' that 'the people are sovereign, not unelected bureaucrats.' Culture desk: Fitness Test Offers Valuable Lessons For many children, recalls The Free Press's Kat Rosenfeld, the old Presidential Fitness meant confronting 'the humiliation and discomfort of being weak and slow,' hence its 2012 'retirement' as President Barack Obama promoted 'a kinder, gentler, more progressive worldview' that preferred 'inclusivity to merit.' Yet this leveling could 'move the nation toward institutionalized mediocrity' by 'making it taboo to even have standards at all.' Progressives faced with a high bar have sought 'to get rid of the bar'; let's welcome President Trump's return of the Fitness Test, since important 'lessons' come only with 'the bitter taste of failure on your tongue.' That is: Failure is 'one of the greatest motivators to self-betterment there is.' From the right: DSA Ties Should Disqualify Zohran Mamdani, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other prominent progressives' membership in the Democratic Socialists of America membership have 'been treated gingerly,' gripes Commentary's Seth Mandel. Yet 'affiliation with the DSA should finally and rightfully be regarded as disqualifying for an elected official.' After all, the recent DSA national convention included a resolution making 'it an expellable offense to say 'Israel has a right to defend itself' or to 'have knowingly provided material aid to Israel,'' plus one 'censuring Ocasio-Cortez for being too pro-Israel.' Who wants to be associated with a 'hate group?' No way 'any politician's membership in such a group should be acceptable.' Eye on hate: The Left's Obsession With Assassins Praise for Shane Tamura, who killed four people, including the CEO of BlackStone, in a mass shooting in New York City last month, 'points to a growing belief,' especially on the left, that 'violent extremism is the only way to challenge a corrupted system,' warn Max Horder & Olivia Rose at City Journal. Most evidence suggested Tamura was targeting NFL offices, but 'an alternative narrative quickly emerged' on social media that 'claimed that Tamura was following in the footsteps' of Luigi Mangione. 'The prevalence of this chatter on social media reflects the unabated growth of what the Network Contagion Research Institute has termed 'assassination culture,'' which glorifies and cheers on political violence. 'The consequences for American civic life are ominous,' and the 'slow but steady rise' of this mentality 'bodes ill for any democracy.' Campus watch: Vindicated for Resisting DEI 'I was heartened to see my former employer, Duke University Health System, quietly reverse its commitment to woke racism this year,' cheers Kendall Conger at RealClear Investigations. A physician, Conger questioned Duke's insistence, supposedly 'guided by science,' that 'racism is a public health crisis' — and 'was fired because of it.' After a nurse reported him for his views on the subject, Duke forbade him to talk about it. Though counseled to keep quiet, he continued to ask questions, knowing that evil comes from 'good men holding their tongues.' In 2024, he was let go for being disruptive and had trouble finding work nearby. But now Duke has changed — and he feels 'vindicated.' He tells his kids: 'Never shy away from asking questions in the pursuit of truth.' — Compiled by The Post Editorial Board
CNBC
7 minutes ago
- CNBC
Israel's growing frustration over the war in Gaza explodes in nationwide protests
Israeli police blasted crowds with water cannons and made dozens of arrests on Sunday as thousands of protesters demanding a deal to free hostages in Gaza aimed to shut down the country with a one-day strike that blocked roads and closed businesses. Groups representing families of hostages organized the demonstrations as frustration grows in Israel over plans for a new military offensive in some of Gaza's most populated areas, which many fear could further endanger the remaining hostages. Fifty hostages remain, and 20 of them are believed to still be alive. "We don't win a war over the bodies of hostages," protesters chanted in one of the largest and fiercest protests in 22 months of war. Even some former Israeli army and intelligence chiefs now call for a deal to end the fighting. Protesters gathered at dozens of places including outside politicians' homes, military headquarters and on major highways. They blocked lanes and lit bonfires. Some restaurants and theaters closed in solidarity. Police said they arrested 38 people. "The only way to bring (hostages) back is through a deal, all at once, without games," former hostage Arbel Yehoud said at a demonstration in Tel Aviv. Her boyfriend Ariel Cunio is still being held by Hamas. One protester carried a photo of an emaciated Palestinian child from Gaza. Such images were once rare at Israeli demonstrations but now appear more often as outrage grows over conditions there for civilians after more than 250 malnutrition-related deaths. An end to the conflict does not seem near. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is balancing competing pressures, including the potential for mutiny within his coalition. "Those who today call for an end to the war without defeating Hamas are not only hardening Hamas' position and delaying the release of our hostages, they are also ensuring that the horrors of Oct. 7 will be repeated," Netanyahu said, referencing the Hamas-led attack in 2023 that killed some 1,200 people and sparked the war. The last time Israel agreed to a ceasefire that released hostages earlier this year, far-right members of his cabinet threatened to topple Netanyahu's government. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Sunday called the demonstrations "a bad and harmful campaign that plays into Hamas' hands, buries the hostages in the tunnels and attempts to get Israel to surrender to its enemies and jeopardize its security and future." The new offensive would require the call-up of thousands of reservists, another concern for many Israelis. Hospitals and witnesses in Gaza said Israeli forces killed at least 17 aid-seekers on Sunday, including nine awaiting U.N. aid trucks close to the Morag corridor. Hamza Asfour said he was just north of the corridor awaiting a convoy when Israeli snipers fired, first to disperse the crowds, then from tanks hundreds of meters (yards) away. He saw two people with gunshot wounds. "It's either to take this risk or wait and see my family die of starvation," he said. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which runs the Israeli-backed and U.S.-supported distribution points that have become the main source of aid since they opened in May, said there was no gunfire "at or near" its sites, which are located in military-controlled areas. Israel's military did not immediately respond to questions. Israel's air and ground war has displaced most of Gaza's population and killed more than 61,900 people, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not specify how many were fighters or civilians but says around half were women and children. Two children and five adults died of malnutrition-related causes Sunday, according to the ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The U.N. and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on casualties. Israel disputes its figures but has not provided its own. The United Nations has warned that levels of starvation and malnutrition in Gaza are at their highest since the war began. Most aid has been blocked from entering Gaza since Israel imposed a total blockade in March after ending a ceasefire. Deliveries have since partially resumed, though aid organizations say the flow is far below what is needed. It is not clear when Israel's military will begin the new offensive in the crowded Gaza City, Muwasi and what Netanyahu has called the "central camps" of Gaza. The military body that coordinates its humanitarian aid to Gaza, COGAT, this weekend noted plans to forcibly evacuate people from combat zones to southern Gaza "for their protection." Designated "safe zones," however, also have been bombed during the war. War-weary Palestinians on Sunday insisted that they won't leave, arguing that there is "no safe place" in Gaza. "There are no humanitarian zones at all," said Raghda Abu Dhaher, who said she has been displaced 10 times during the war and now shelters in a school in western Gaza City. Mohamed Ahmed also insisted that he won't move south. "Here is bombing and there is bombing," he said. Israeli airstrikes hit Yemen's capital Sunday, escalating strikes on the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who since the war in Gaza began have fired missiles at Israel and targeted ships in the Red Sea. The Houthi-run Al-Masirah Television said the strikes targeted a power plant in the southern district of Sanhan, sparking a fire and knocking it out of service. Israel's military said the strikes were launched in response to missiles and drones aimed at Israel. While some projectiles have breached its missile defenses — notably during its 12-day war with Iran in June — Israel has intercepted the vast majority of missiles launched from Yemen. Its military later Sunday said it had intercepted another.
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Tens of thousands of Israelis protest for end to Gaza war
Clutching pictures of hostages, waving yellow flags, banging on snare drums and shouting chants to bring captive Israelis home, tens of thousands took to Tel Aviv's streets Sunday to call for an end to the war in Gaza. "We're here to make it very clear to the Israeli government that this is probably the last minute we have to save the hostages that are being held in the Hamas tunnels for almost 700 days," Ofir Penso, a 50-year-old Arabic teacher, told AFP. Demonstrations have been held regularly through most of the 22 months of war in the wake of the Hamas attacks in 2023, but Sunday's protests appeared to be one of the largest yet. The renewed energy of the movement came with the government deciding just over a week ago to seize Gaza City and nearby camps in a new offensive. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's vow to conquer the most populated swathes of the Gaza Strip has triggered an international backlash while aid agencies and UN experts have warned of unfolding famine in the territory. Recent video footage released by Palestinian militants showed hostages heavily emaciated and pale -- spurring fears that the captives' health is more fragile than ever. Many in the crowd wore makeshift patches on their shirts made with pieces of tape with the number 681 -- the number of days the hostages have been held captive in Gaza -- scrawled in marker pen. Of the 251 people taken hostage by Palestinian militants in October 2023, 49 remain in the Gaza Strip, including 27 the Israeli military has said are dead. - 'Enough is enough' - Snaking along downtown streets, shadowed by glass towers, the crowd converged on Tel Aviv's Hostage Square -- the focal point of movement. "The Israeli government has never offered a genuine initiative for a comprehensive agreement and an end to the war," Einav Tzangauker, whose son Matan is being held captive in Gaza, told the crowd. "We demand a comprehensive and achievable agreement and an end to the war. We demand what is rightfully ours -– our children." The war has also touched on other frustrations for many who took to the streets. "The whole country is fighting with each other, our image around the world has completely changed, worse than it ever was, and enough is enough," Nick, a 31-year-old tech worker, told AFP, asking not to use his last name. Others worried about the fate of their own children enlisted in the Israeli military who had been sent to Gaza and feared that they might soon be recalled to fight. "We are hoping and praying that our government will hear us and listen to us," said Ella Kaufman from Kadima Zoran, who has two sons serving as officers in the Israeli army. "I'm also a concerned mother." While thousands took to the streets, there were others in Tel Aviv who hoped for an end to the war but in different circumstances. "No, I won't be protesting against Bibi, because I think that he has to finish the work, he has to finish the war," said Patrick Menache, a 69-year-old real estate investor in Tel Aviv, using a common nickname for Netanyahu. Nevertheless, he admitted the war had taken a toll. "Everybody is tired, the hostages are tired, the families are tired, the Palestinians are tired, everybody is tired." ds/dcp/dv
