22-05-2025
Leaders Of Designated Terror Organization Samidoun Call Murder Of Young Couple By Pro-Palestinian At Jewish Event In Washington, D.C. 'Only Logical' – Adding 'Yes – To Globalize The Intifada'
Following the murder of a young Jewish couple, both employees of the Israeli Embassy, outside the Capital Jewish Museum last night, the founder and international coordinator of the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network expressed support for the murder and blaming "Israel's crimes in Gaza" for it.
Samidoun is affiliated with the designated terrorist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and in October 2024 was designated terrorist by the U.S., Canada, and other countries. It raises funds for the PFLP.
Khaled Barakat, founder of both Samidoun and Masar Badil, the Palestinian Alternative Revolutionary Path Movement, and a member of the latter's executive committee, has been identified by the U.S. government as a senior member of the PFLP. He is also designated terrorist by the U.S. and Canada. A Canadian citizen, Barakat has been residing in Beirut for several months after being designated in Canada in October 2024.
Charlotte Kates, Barakat's wife, is Samidoun's international coordinator. Kates was arrested in May 2024 following her speech at a rally in Vancouver, British Columbia in which she expressed support for Hamas, the PFLP, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and Lebanese Hizbullah and demanded that they be removed from Canada's terror list. In August 2024, Kates traveled to Iran to accept Iran's "Eighth Annual Islamic Human Rights And Human Dignity Award," presented in Tehran on August 4 by the secretary general of the High Council for Human Rights of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The following day in Tehran, she gave a detailed interview to Iran's Ofogh TV, discussing her arrest. Kates traveled to Lebanon to attend the funeral of Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah in February 2025 and so far appears to still be there.
Barakat and Kates (Source: May 18, 2018)
Below are statements by Barakat and Kates about last night's murder:
Samidoun Founder Khaled Barakat: "Israel's Crimes In Gaza Are Responsible For The Killing Of Its Representatives In Washington"; "We Affirm That The Occupation Is The Original Crime, And That Those Who Seek To Criminalize The Reactions While Remaining Silent On The Massacre Are Complicit In The Ongoing Crime"
In a report published on the website of Masar Badil, aka the Palestinian Alternative Revolutionary Path Movement, following the murder, Barakat was quoted as saying: "[T]he shooting incident that occurred in the U.S. capital, Washington, targeting employees of the 'Israeli' embassy, is a natural consequence of the Zionist entity's crimes in the Gaza Strip."
He added: "This explosion of anger in the heart of the U.S. capital is neither isolated nor random, but one of the manifestations of pain and deep rage stemming from the international community's disregard for the suffering of Palestinians, and its complicity in shielding the killers and granting them impunity. We affirm that the occupation is the original crime, and that those who seek to criminalize the reactions while remaining silent on the massacre are complicit in the ongoing crime."
Samidoun International Coordinator Charlotte Kates: "People Will Act When There Is No Accountability Whatsoever Imposed Upon That Genocidal Regime [Israel]"; "It's Only Logical That People Will Find Alternative Means Of Imposing Consequences" – "And Yes, To Globalize The Intifada"
On her X account, Samidoun International Coordinator Charlotte Kates wrote: "Urging everyone to avoid speculation about 'false flags' whenever an incident occurs that people find inconvenient for media." She added in the past that "basic actions of 'legal' protest are being criminalized."
In subsequent messages, she went on to write: "It should surprise literally no one that people will act when there is no accountability whatsoever imposed upon that genocidal regime," i.e. Israel, and that "it's only logical that people will find alternative means of imposing consequences." She concluded: "And yes, to globalize the intifada."
