Designated Terrorist Groups Samidoun – Based In U.S. And Canada, And Masar Badil – Active In Spain, Both Affiliated With The PFLP, Condemn American Strikes Against Houthis, Call On Anti-Israel Protest
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
On March 16, 2025, Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, and its offshoot Masar Badil, issued statements in English condemning the recent U.S. strikes that targeted multiple leaders of the Iran-backed Yemeni jihadi Ansar Allah Movement, AKA the Houthis.
Samidoun, and Masar Badil were Designated as supporters of Foreign Terror Organization by the U.S. Treasury on October 15, 2024, in a statement that called Samidoun A "sham charity that serves as an international fundraiser for the PFLP [Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine]".[1] In a coordinated effort, Canada listed Samidoun as a terrorist entity on October 11. Khaled Barakat the Canadian leader of Masar Badil, and husband of Samidoun's International Coordinator Charlotte Kates, was also Designated by the Canada and the U.S. Treasury on October 15, 2024, for being among the leaders of PFLP, a Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the U.S. Department of State.
This is not the first time Samidoun and Masar Badil have issues statements of support for the Iran-backed Houthis. In June 2024, they led over 250 international jihadi and anti-Israel organizations in a statement of support for the Yemeni group's attack on U.S. and UK targets. In addition, as part of its efforts to platform the voices of "Resistance Axis" leaders, Masar Badil livestreamed in August 2024 an interview with Nasruddin Amer, chair of the board of the Yemeni Saba Media Agency and vice chair of the Media Authority of the Houthi movement. The interview prominently featured Samidoun International Coordinator Kates.[2]
The following is a review of the recent statements by Samidoun and Masar Badil.
Samidoun: "Zionist, American, Arab Alliance Against Yemen"
Samidoun's statement read: "Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network unequivocally condemns the latest US-Zionist assault on Yemen, which has taken the lives of dozens of martyrs and injured many more in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, and Saada Governorate, and urges all supporters of Palestine to stand in defense of Yemen and all those in the region and around the world targeted for their resistance to genocide."
"The US' latest bombing of Yemen illustrates vividly once again that this is now and always has been a US-Zionist genocide in Gaza and throughout occupied Palestine, against the Arab nation and against the region as a whole."
It further accused Arab governments of conspiracy against Yemen.
"The complicity and involvement of the Arab reactionary regimes in the assault on Yemen further underlines the alliance of Zionism, imperialism and Arab reaction in the enemy camp confronting all those who stand for justice, unity, self-determination and national and international liberation."
Defending the Houthi attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea, the statement said:
"Yemen's blockade of Zionist shipping is a blockade to break the siege and end genocide, the decolonization of the Red Sea from imperialist and Zionist control and domination. Yemen is leading the world in the implementation of the Genocide Convention and international law, requiring the Zionist regime to abide by its ceasefire conditions, end the siege on Gaza and stop blocking the entry of humanitarian aid. Any attack on Yemen is carried out, clearly and explicitly, to advance the project of genocide and starvation against the Palestinian people, through a bloody assault on the people of Yemen. The aggression on Yemen comes after Sayyed Abdel-Malik Badr al-Din al-Houthi announced that the four-day window for the Zionist regime to abide by its ceasefire agreement had expired and that, therefore, anti-genocide naval operations against Zionist shipping in the Bab al-Mandab strait would resume."
The statement further conflated the American airstrikes against the Houthis with President Donald Trump's policy of deporting foreign students who were inciting antisemitism in American universities, describing it as a policy of "fascist state."
Arrests, Deportations Are Policies Of A "Fascist State"
"These attacks come simultaneously with intensified repression by the fascist state powers in the heart of the imperial core. Let us be clear: their arrests and deportations are meant to silence the movement, create fear and impose terror in the hearts of the population in order to give them free rein to bombard Yemen, to assault Gaza, to starve the Palestinian people, to attack Tulkarem, to advance genocide throughout Palestine, to threaten Iran."
"Only Way To Fight Repression Is To Escalate"
Calling on anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian supporters everywhere to show solidarity with Yemen, the statement instructed them to "escalate" their activities.
"It is critical that the Palestine movement stands fully with Yemen against this attack and refuses to be silenced by repression, to ensure that there is no business as usual for genocide. The only way we can effectively fight repression is to defend all those under attack and to escalate, in size, strength and numbers, our support for Palestine, for Yemen and for all of the forces of resistance. We cannot fight repression as a series of individual battles, but must do so as part of the anti-imperialist, anti-Zionist struggle, for the liberation of Palestine, the Arab nation and the region."
"To Stand With Yemen Is To Stand With Palestine"
In conclusion, the statement assured Palestinians that the Houthis would not be intimidated by the U.S. airstrikes, and would continue to support them. It encouraged pro-Palestinian supporters to take the streets to show support for Houthis.
"The Yemeni people are making quite clear that they will never stop their defense of Palestine, despite the bombings of civilian homes, power plants and infrastructure, by the US-Zionist imperialist monster. It is incumbent upon us all to take that same stand for Yemen, to begin to live up to the Yemeni example set every day with courage and steadfastness; to fill the streets and squares, to raise our voices, to make it impossible for the imperialist assaults to continue. To stand with Yemen is to stand with Palestine, is to stand with the global resistance in defense of humanity."
The statement included a list of "hundreds of organizations and thousands of individuals who signed a statement in June 2024 "in defense of the Yemeni people against US-British-Zionist aggression."
Masar Badil Calls For International Popular Movement For Yemen, Palestine
Similarly, Vancouver-based Khaled Barakat, who heads Masar Badil, a pro-Palestinian, pro-Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) organization affiliated with Samidoun, issued a statement in which he said that "these disgusting and desperate American attacks will not succeed in separating the Yemeni people from their central cause, Palestine."
Barakat called upon the organizations and supporters of the Masar Badil and the international movements in solidarity with Palestine to "declare their revolutionary and practical solidarity with the Yemeni people supporting the Palestinian resistance and supporting our people in the Gaza Strip in the face of siege, starvation and the Zionist genocidal aggression."
He also called for "real and active mobilization in all areas in order to expose the US and Zionist policies targeting the people of Yemen who stood tall in the face of criminal wars for two decades, and still declare their steadfast position, standing united behind their revolutionary leadership and armed forces that imposed by force and will a naval blockade on the ports of occupied Palestine, which caused billions of dollars in losses for the enemy, its companies and supporters."
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According to numerous recent reports in Arab media, a demand to disarm has been presented to Hamas, as part of the contacts for a ceasefire in Gaza, and this demand was rejected by Hamas officials.[1] Joining Hamas in its position are journalists in Qatar, who call the weapons of the Palestinian resistance an "existential necessity" that "are not to be bargained over"; they also refer to them as "honor" and that "relinquishing them is humiliation" and as a means that "caused heavy losses to the occupation." Particularly noticeable among these journalists was the position of Jabar Al-Harmi, editor of the Al-Sharq government daily, who called on Hamas not to give up its weapons and not to disavow its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, because "what was taken by force will be restored only by force." He called on Hamas to act like the Taliban in Afghanistan, which despite its sacrifices never gave up its weapons and, "armed from head to toe," forced the U.S. to sit at the negotiating table with it to discuss "not what it [the U.S.] would achieve and what it would gain, but how it would escape [from Afghanistan]." Hamas's holding on to its weapons, he said, would stop Israel from recovering from October 7; he added that in any case, Israel's disappearance was nearer than people think. It should be noted that Al-Harmi also holds antisemitic views and has called for the destruction of Israel. In his articles in the newspaper, and on his X account, he regularly expresses support for Hamas and its October 7, 2023 attack, in which 1,200 were killed and 251 were taken to Gaza as hostages.[2] This mirrors Qatar's absolute support for Hamas.[3] Cartoon in Qatari daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi: Resistance fighter stands fast against attempts to take "the weapons of the resistance" from him. (Source: Al-Quds Al-Arabi, London, April 25, 2025) This report will present the positions of writers in Qatar on the subject of the "weapons of the resistance," particularly the position of Al-Sharq editor Jabar Al-Harmi: Al-Sharq Editor Al-Harmi On X, May 24, 2025: Like The Taliban, Hamas Must Not Give Up Its Weapons – And Must Not Disavow Its October 7 Attack Al-Sharq editor Jabar Al-Harmi called on Hamas not to give up its weapons and not to disavow its October 7, 2023 attack. He likened Hamas's situation to that of the Afghan Taliban, who never relinquished their weapons and even, he said, forced the U.S. to negotiate with them by force of their weapons, in addition to "defeating Russia and then the U.S. and the West all together" who today seek "the love of the Afghans – love that comes by force of arms." In a May 24, 2025 post on X, Al-Harmi wrote: "Had the Afghans agreed to solutions of submission during the invasion of their country by two of the strongest countries – the U.S.S.R. in 1979 and the U.S. in 2002 [sic[4]] – and had they said 'We have no strength against these two countries, we are a poor country, and if we are in a position of inferiority, we have no weapons and the world is set against us,' they would not today have a state that is respected by all those who invaded them previously. "The Afghans opposed [the invaders] with their force and might, defeating Russia and then the U.S. and the West all together. Although the invaders used the most criminal weapons, including weapons banned by international conventions, the Afghans did not surrender, despite all the victims. This is what ultimately forced the invaders to sit at the negotiating table with them, by force of arms – not to negotiate over what it [the U.S.] would achieve and what it would gain, but how it would escape [from Afghanistan]. "This did not happen by virtue of the Afghans' consent to disarm – it was by virtue of their strong opposition to the invaders and their defense by means of everything they had, and by means of the weapons of the enemies that they had seized. This is the path to liberation. What was taken by force will be restored only by force, and anything else is an attempt to anesthetize and distract the occupied peoples. Today, Russia and the U.S. seek the love of the Afghans – a love that comes by force of arms. "Consent to disarm the resistance in Gaza and to disavow the October 7 [attack] means that the enemy [Israel] will revive, [and will continue to exist] for the next 100 years. 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For example, Palestinian writer Hadir Rashad explained in his column in Al-Sharq, under the headline "The Weapons Of The Resistance Are Not For Bargaining," that "it is not easy to raise the issue of disarming the resistance without this proposal crashing into the obvious wall of reality, according to which weapons in the hands of peoples under occupation are not a choice but an existential necessity... The weapons of the resistance in Gaza will never be a mere symbol or slogan – they are an influential means of action that caused the occupation heavy losses in lives and in [its] economy... 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Presenting the "defeat" of the U.S. by the Houthis, and stating that the USS Harry S Truman aircraft carrier had retreated from the Red Sea fearing that the F-35s on board would be downed, the Kayhan article stated that Yemen is one of only three countries, along with Russia and China, capable of "putting an end to the undisputed supremacy of the F-35." It added that President Donald Trump had submitted to Houthi pressure, begun to secretly negotiate with the group, and was even refraining from promising to defend Israel. It also said that the U.S. was concealing the downing of its planes, calling it a "technical glitch" and, in cases of successful Houthi strikes, launching a media campaign to obscure this. Kayhan went on to cast the Houthis as the most resolute and dangerous enemy the U.S. faces in the region. The following is a translation of Kayhan's May 31, 2025 article, which was titled "Open Season On F-35s." "Open Season On F-35s" – Kayhan, May 31, 2025 "The statements about Yemen's new air defense system by Mahdi Al-Mashat, head of Yemen's [the Houthis'] Supreme Political Council, are 'very important.' Yesterday [May 30, 2025], Al-Mashat told the [Hizbullah-affiliated Al-Mayadeen] television network that his country had acquired the technology and equipment needed to down American F-35 fighter jets. He added, 'In the coming days, we will make a laughingstock out of the Zionist planes. These statements came in response to the Israeli regime's attacks on Yemeni ports. The Zionist regime must travel over 1,000 kilometers to attack Yemen, and for this it usually uses F-15 and F-35 fighter jets accompanied by a Boeing 707 refueling plane. "Now, the Yemenis are explicitly saying that 'the hit-and-run era is over,' and that from now on, in addition to firing missiles at the occupied territories [Israel] they can also easily locate these fighter jets in the sky and strike them. This is a significant claim, so significant that perhaps some see it as 'the usual roars of war' whose message always arouses doubts on the part of the aggressor and makes him change his calculations. "If [the Houthis] succeed, this claim could change the equations of the war. It is interesting to note that a few days before Mahdi Al-Mashat['s statement], the American magazine National Interest announced, quoting several knowledgeable American sources, that 'only three countries possess the technology necessary to end the undisputed superiority of the American F-35 stealth fighter jet,' and these three are 'Russia, China, and... Yemen!' 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Mahdi Al-Mashat says that we need to wait just a few days to see if they have the capability of downing F-35s! "In May, there were only a few days in which the Yemenis did not attack Tel Aviv, Israel's airports, and sensitive security centers, and [Israel] will apparently again attack Yemen in an attempt to stop this. In light of Mahdi Al-Mashat's statements, this potential [future] Israeli attack is expected to be particularly fateful! We must wait and see. But we must also consider that any news about downed Israeli F-35s jets will be censored, and no one will hear about it.[1] "The Tone Of Yemen's Supreme Political Council Head [Al-Mashat] Regarding The Yemenis' Powerful New Air Defense Is So Serious That It Can Be Said That Important News Is Imminent" "Experts on Yemen say that war with it, for whatever reason, is a very difficult challenge, even for the biggest military powers. This difficulty stems mainly from the 'character of the Yemeni people.' The Yemenis are a unique people; all those who have studied Yemeni society in depth unanimously confirm their uniqueness. For example, it is said that when [the Yemenis] encounter a problem or crisis, they do not 'wait,' but find a solution by themselves and continue moving forward in any way possible. Just as they have found a solution for the [problem of the] enormous American aircraft carriers, they say they have already found a solution for the [problem of the] F-35s. We must wait and see how effective their solution is. "'Courage' is one of the Yemeni people's most prominent characteristics, and this has made it hard for any enemy to fight them. They [the Houthis] have reiterated after every major attack by America and the Zionist regime that these attacks would not make them abandon their Palestinian brothers. The very fact that you have the courage to strike the world's largest military power and expel it from the region – is that not the height of courage? Israel and America, which were never seriously involved in fighting Yemen, know very little about this country and its people. In the words of that Zionist writer, 'Israel knows every single point in Lebanon, because it is a very close neighbor – but about Yemen, we have almost no information... Therefore, the war against the Houthis is especially difficult'... "As mentioned above, the coming days will be critical, in light of Mahdi Al-Mashat's claim. If the Yemenis successfully down the advanced and strategic F-35 fighter jet, we may well face a major psychological and media operation by America and the Zionist regime. They will try to downplay the significance of the incident. "They'll say, for example, that a 'technical glitch' was what caused the downing of the advanced fighter jet – just like they did in in the case of the three American F-18s, when they tried to claim that their downing was the result of evasive maneuvers by the USS Harry S Truman aircraft carrier – not by the precision firing of Yemeni missiles. At the same time, there may be barbaric Israeli attacks on civilian centers in Yemen, as well as an even more cruel massacre of Gazans. The Zionists generally advance their interests while taking civilians hostage. "'The option of starting secret negotiations' is another scenario that could materialize if an Israeli F-35 is downed. Israel may enter into secret negotiations with Yemen with American mediation, just as Trump conducted secret negotiations with the Yemenis, since neither Israel nor America can bear such great humiliation to its image. "The tone of Yemen's Supreme Political Council head [Al-Mashat] regarding the Yemenis' powerful new air defense is so serious that it can be said that important news is imminent. The best thing to do in this situation is to wait and see what happens. If the Yemenis' promise is kept, it can be said that the rules of this war will change. "The main question is: Are the Israeli regime and the U.S. willing to accept the risk of losing F-35s? Or would they rather avoid direct confrontation with Yemen?"[2]
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Article On Emirati News Site: The D.C. Terror Attack In In Which Two Israel Embassy Staffers Were Murdered Is A Mini-Version Of 9/11 And A Direct Result Of The West Ignoring The Danger Of The Muslim B
In a May 23, 2025 article on the Emirati news site Al Ain, Yemeni columnist Hani Salem Mashour responded to the May 21, 2025 murderous attack in Washington D.C. in which two staff members of the Israeli embassy in Washington were shot dead. Hani wrote that the shooting was a "mini-version" of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the U.S. and a direct continuation of them, since both attacks sprang from the same ideological root and were perpetrated under the same political pretext. Moreover, both were a direct result of the Western policy that allows political Islam organizations, in particular the Muslim Brotherhood (MB), to operate in the West in the name of liberties and the freedom of expression while ignoring its discourse of incitement and hatred. Mashour added that, despite the time that has elapsed since the September 11 attacks, no meaningful action has been taken to constrain the incitement of political Islam: the Arab world has not purged its religious discourse of extremism, and the West continues to permit the activity of these extremist organizations within its borders, along with their inciting discourse. Furthermore. the West disregarded the warning of Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Aal Nahyan in 2017 that "the MB is more dangerous than Al-Qaeda and ISIS," and that tolerating political Islam in Western countries would turn them into incubators of terrorist and hate-filled discourse.[1] In these circumstances, he said, the terrorist attack in Washington comes as no surprise. Mashour urged the Arab countries and the West to join forces in a comprehensive campaign against political Islam, and warned that hesitation in this matter would only lead to more attacks. Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky, the two Israel Embassy staffers murdered in Washington D.C. (Source: May 22, 2025) The following are translated excerpts from Mashour's article:[2] "What happened in Washington [i.e. the murder of the two Israeli Embassy staffers] did not take place in a vacuum. It was a distant echo of a larger explosion that occurred more than two decades ago in New York. The equation has not changed since September 11, only the façade has changed: from planes to guns, and from Al-Qaeda to lone wolves nourished by the discourse of political Islam dressed up in slogans about discrimination. Between the former terrorist attack [i.e., 9/11] and the recent bullet, the Arab world missed the opportunity to renew its religious discourse, and the West hesitated in its struggle against organizations that despise its democracy yet are nourished by its laws. "What took place in Washington is just a replica, albeit in miniature, of the September 11, 2001 [attacks] – the same ideological root, the same political justification wrapped in slogans, and the same fatal Western disregard of those who lead the hate-filled discourse, [disregard] under the banner of 'rights and freedoms.' Between these two dates there was sufficient time to learn lessons, but the Arabs did not renew their religious discourse and the West did not dry up the wellsprings of terrorism. "On the contrary, at their conferences, Arab [Islamists] began to refer to Western cities – from London to Amsterdam and from Paris to Washington – as 'London-stan,' 'Amsterdam-stan,' 'Paris-stan' and 'Washington-stan.' [These] cities started to produce a discourse of hatred in the name of Islam, [discourse that emerged] not from the caves of Kandahar and Tora Bora in Afghanistan but from the heart of licensed mosques, non-governmental organizations and university classes. "The murderer in Washington [D.C.] needed no orders from any leadership [to perpetrate the attack]. It's enough that he was raised in an ideological atmosphere that enabled [the name] Palestine to be mixed up with terrorism and [the demand for] liberty to be mixed up with slaughter. The words he uttered before firing [his weapon, i.e., "Free Palestine!"] were no slip of the tongue, but the essence of the incitement that has been ongoing for decades in the name of the just [Palestinian] cause, which was long ago highjacked by political Islam. "In this context precisely came the courageous early warning of Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Aal Nahyan, who said what many hadn't dared to say, [namely that] the Muslim Brotherhood is more dangerous than Al-Qaeda and ISIS. This was no exaggeration but a prescient truth, [precisely] because the [MB] organization does not knock on doors with explosives but rather with legal documents and media platforms. It infiltrates [societies] as a [charitable] association and spreads as an ideology, and when the times comes it produces from its ranks the one who squeezes the trigger. "Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan did not just warn about the [MB] ideology, but explicitly noted that hosting political Islam organizations in the West under the slogan of freedom of expression and democracy would turn these [Western] countries into incubators of terrorist, hate-filled discourse. This is exactly what we are seeing today, when shots are fired in the heart of the American capital in the name of a highjacked cause and a polluted ideology. "The West did not take this warning seriously. It counted on the 'moderation' of the [MB's] discourse, while [the latter] built its networks within [the West's] institutions. The biggest mistake was and remains the false distinction between the 'moderate MB' and the 'extremist Islamists' – [for] they are all products of the same text, even if [their] executive mechanisms are different. "The event in Washington was not surprising. On the contrary, it was only a matter of time. The failure to pass deterrent laws that prohibit the activity of the MB and of the [other] streams of political Islam is the biggest problem, not only in the U.S. but in all the countries that have yet to acknowledge that the battle is not only against armed terrorism but [also] against the soft terrorism that starts with incitement and ends in bloodshed. "France began to comprehend this too late, but today it understands and sees the MB as a key threat to its security. It monitors its financing, limits its activity in its low-income neighborhoods and realizes that permitting its presence in the name of democracy means the systematic dismantling of the Republic itself. As for Washington, it is still in a state of shock: it suffices with condemnations following every [violent] event and then goes back to nurturing these groups that preach violence under the cover of freedom [of expression]. "During his first term in office, president [Donald] Trump came close to designating the MB as a terrorist organization, but the decision was held up by the red tape of the deep state and the opposition of pressure groups and media circles. Today, with his return to the White House, the opportunity is back. "This is where the true role of the moderate Arab countries comes in, and we must not miss this opportunity again. The coordination with the Trump administration must go far beyond a security alliance or the exchange of information. We are at a political juncture that allows [us] to incriminate the MB on a global scale, dry up its ideological wellsprings and expose its continent-spanning financing network. "[Today], after the shooting in Washington, the situation must change. There is no longer any justification for legal tolerance or political leniency toward the lighthouses of inciting ideology. There is choice but to wage an ideological, legal, security and media struggle against all those who claim a monopoly on Islam in order to establish their caliphate over the [spilled] blood of Jews, Christians and the Muslims themselves. "This article is not a cry of fury but a repeated warning for those who have not yet woken up. Whoever fails to see that the threat of political Islam has become tangible, deadly and present in the streets of the Western capitals must be blind or in collusion [with the MB]. The shooting at the Jewish Museum will not be the last. It is just a reminder that the fire is still burning and that we are living with a ticking bomb that does not explode only when its sound is heard but when we are silent for too long and fail to prevent it [from exploding]."
