Latest news with #ZaherBirawi
New York Post
7 hours ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Alleged ‘Hamas operative' organized Greta Thunberg's failed attempt to break Gaza blockade: report
A British-Palestinian journalist who has long-been accused of being a 'Hamas operative' served as a key figure who helped launch the aid vessel carrying Greta Thunberg and other international activists who were detained by Israel, according to a new report. Zaher Birawi, 63, the head of the International Committee to Break the Siege on Gaza and founding member of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, was at the launch of the Madleen ship a week ago as he praised Thunberg and the other activists traveling to challenge Israel's blockade on the Palestinian enclave. Birawi, who also heads the EuroPal Forum nonprofit to support Palestinians, has been repeatedly accused of having Hamas links, with a 2012 photograph showing him attending an event alongside slain Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh, the Telegraph reported. 5 Zaher Birawi, 63, has been repeatedly accused of having links to the Hamas terrorist group. Facebook/Zaher Birawi 5 Birawi has backed several sailing missions to challenge Israel's blockade over Gaza. Facebook/Zaher Birawi Birawi, a vocal critic of Israel's policies in the Gaza Strip, has repeatedly denied the allegations that he has any links to terrorist crimes. There's no evidence to suggest Birawi has helped facilitate any of Hamas' crimes. The allegations first surfaced in 2013 when Israel identified him as a Hamas operative working in Europe, with his nonprofit labeled a terrorist organization in 2021 for alleged ties to the Palestinian terror group. The EuroPal Forum has strongly denied any terror links, claiming it was unfairly targeted for its work abroad advocating for Palestinian rights. Birawi was eventually awarded compensation when he sued the NatWest financial database for allegedly putting him on a terrorism watch list. 5 Zaher Birawi attended a 2012 forum with Pro-Palestinian activists who took a picture with then-Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh. Ministry of Strategic Affairs 'My legal team relied primarily on the fact that there has never been any legal sentence passed against me by any official authority in any state anywhere in the world, and that never have I been found to have been involved in any illegal acts which could be deemed within the scope of terrorism crimes,' Birawi said at the time. The Palestinian advocate was accused again of being 'a Hamas operative' by Labour MP Christian Wakeford following the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack in Israel. 5 Birawi helped lead demonstrations in London against the war in Gaza. In Pictures via Getty Images Wakeford used parliamentary privilege to slam Birawi as a 'serious national security risk' and accused him of obtaining British citizenship 'through the use of fake documents.' Birawi slammed Wakeford's claims as baseless. The UK, which like the US lists Hamas as a terrorist group, has not taken action against Birawi. Birawi did not immediately respond to The Post's request for comment. 5 Birawi has repeatedly slammed the allegations against him as baseless. Facebook/Zaher Birawi Birawi has spoken out against Israel's invasion of Gaza following the Oct. 7 terrorist attack, with the advocate helping organize multiple protests in London against the war. His latest criticism was aimed at the Israel Defense Forces after the military detained the activists aboard the Madleen on Sunday. 'In a piracy operation in international waters and 150 nautical miles from Palestinian waters, the Israeli navy took control of the ship Madleen and abducted the allies on board,' he wrote over the weekend. 'The Freedom Flag Alliance demands international intervention to ensure their safety and release,' he added. The Madleen ship, operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, set sail on June 1 with 12 activists onboard, including Thunberg, a Swedish climate campaigner, and Irish actor Liam Cunningham. The group aboard the charity ship aimed to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza's refugees, including much-needed baby formula and simple nutrition like rice. The IDF had repeatedly warned the ship to turn back, vowing that nothing will break the naval blockade in Gaza, which has existed since Hamas seized power in 2007.
The Sun
9 hours ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Meet London-based ‘Hamas operative' behind Greta Thunberg's ‘Freedom Flotilla' stunt that was foiled by Israel
A MAN accused in parliament of being a Hamas operative based in London was one of the organisers of Greta Thunberg's "Freedom Flotilla", it has emerged. Zaher Birawi, who has been photographed with slain Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, was present at the launch of the British-flagged yacht Madleen. 7 7 7 7 As a Palestinian-British journalist, Mr Birawi is chair of the International Committee to Break the Siege of Gaza. He also runs a UK-registered charity called Education Aid for Palestinians, which has raised more than £3 million since 2017. Just a week ago, Mr Birawi was present at the launch of Madleen and live-streamed the event from a dock in Sicily. He called himself the 'founding member' of the Freedom Flotilla International Coalition - which arranged Madleen's voyage to Gaza. The 'selfie yacht' has now been seized by Israel, and all the people onboard have been detained. Labour MP Christian Wakeford named Mr Birawi in the Commons using special parliamentary protections that protect him from being sued. Mr Birawi said Mr Wakeford's claim was 'baseless' and that he was looking at 'all available legal recourse' in response to the MP's comments. According to Israel's strategic affairs ministry, Mr Birawi moved to the UK in the 1990s, has 'close ties to Hamas' and worked for several pro-Palestinian NGOs - including one tied to Hamas. In 2023, The Sun on Sunday revealed Mr Birawi lived in a £500,000 semi-detached house in leafy north London. MP for Bury South Mr Wakeford raised concerns over a 'serious national security risk' from 'Hamas operatives'. He told the Commons: '[Mr Birawi] was designated by Israel in 2013 as a senior Hamas operative in Europe. 'He is listed as a trustee of a UK-registered charity Education Aid for Palestinians, and a publicly available video shows him hosting a 2019 event in London titled 'Understanding Hamas'. 'Two weeks ago, Hamas launched the deadly terrorist attack the world has seen since 9/11. 'This House rightly voted to proscribe Hamas in its entirety in November 2021. It is therefore a serious national security risk for Hamas operatives to be living here in London." There is no suggestion that Mr Birawi was involved in the deadly October 7 terror attacks. He said: 'I have been made aware of the fact that the Member of Parliament for Bury South, Christian Wakefield, made a reference to my name in the proceedings of the House of Commons on October 26. 'Regrettably, this mention appears to have been motivated by an intent to besmirch my character and, potentially, to rationalise any harm that may befall me or my family. 'In a time when we should all exercise vigilance and contemplate the potential consequences of our words, particularly their capacity to incite violence and animosity, Mr Wakefield chose a contrary course of action. 'I wish to reaffirm that what the respected MP said about the accusation is baseless and that it is part of the distortion attempts undertaken by the occupying state to prevent activists supporting Palestinian rights from carrying out their duties in supporting the Palestinian human rights.' 7 7 7 Hamas has been proscribed as a terror group in the UK under the Terrorism Act 2000 since 2021. Swedish eco warrior Greta, ten other activists and a journalist were on the Madleen when it left the Italian isle of Sicily last week. Israel accused the Freedom Flotilla Coalition of supporting Hamas terrorists. The 'selfie yacht' operated by the pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition was said to be "safely making its way to the shores of Israel", Israel's Foreign Minsitry said. All passengers were safe and unharmed and activists handed out sandwiches and water before the vessel docked at the southern Israeli port of Ashdod. The boat was carrying a "tiny amount of aid" on board - which will be sent to Gaza. Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said that he has instructed the Israeli Defence Forces to screen footage of the 7 October attacks as soon as they arrive. The disturbing footage - titled "Bearing Witness" - shows innocent people being massacred and mutilated. And all the footage was taken from the Hamas terrorists' bodycams as they filmed their massacre. Hamas branded the interception of the yacht as a "crime of piracy". The group said in a statement that activists were on a "humanitarian mission aimed at breaking the siege on the Gaza Strip and exposing the crime of mass starvation." It added that Israel's action was "organised state terrorism, a clear violation of international law, and an attack on civilian volunteers motivated by humanitarian motives."
Telegraph
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
‘Hamas operative' based in London behind Greta Thunberg's Gaza flotilla
A man accused of being 'a Hamas operative' based in London is a key figure behind Greta Thunberg's Gaza-bound aid boat, it emerged on Monday. Zaher Birawi, who was described in Parliament as a person with links to Hamas, describes himself as a 'founding member' of the Freedom Flotilla International Coalition, which arranged the voyage by the aid boat Madleen. Israeli forces boarded and seized the boat on Sunday – detaining the 12 pro-Palestinian activists it was carrying, including Ms Thunberg – as it attempted to bring a 'symbolic' amount of aid to Gaza in defiance of an Israeli naval blockade. Mr Birawi, a Palestinian-British journalist at an Arabic-language satellite TV channel in London, was at the launch of the Madleen a week ago, livestreaming it from its dock in Sicily. Ms Thunberg gave a speech before the boat set sail for Gaza. In 2013, Mr Birawi was designated by Israel as a Hamas operative in Europe and is the head of the Europal Forum, which Israel designated as a terrorist organisation in 2021. The Europal Forum strongly denied any terror links, and in 2021 Mr Birwani received compensation after taking legal action against a financial database, which he said had wrongly placed him on a terrorism watch list. He denied ever being involved in any illegal acts within the scope of terrorism crimes. Speaking in the Commons in October 2023, Christian Wakeford, the Labour MP for Bury South, used parliamentary privilege to name 63-year-old Mr Birawi as a Hamas operative living in Barnet, north London. 'He is listed as a trustee of a UK-registered charity, Education Aid for Palestinians, and publicly available video shows him hosting a 2019 event in London titled Understanding Hamas,' Mr Wakeford told MPs. 'Two weeks ago, Hamas launched the deadliest terror attack [the Oct 7 attack on Israel] the world has seen since 9/11. 'It is therefore a serious national security risk for Hamas operatives to be living here in London, especially where at least one appears to have done so through the use of fake documents in obtaining British citizenship.' There is no suggestion that Mr Birwani was involved in the Oct 7 attack. Hamas has been proscribed as a terror group in the UK under the Terrorism Act 2000 since 2021. Mr Birawi was photographed in 2012 with Ismail Haniyeh, the former Hamas leader who was assassinated last year by an explosive device suspected to have been placed by Israeli agents in his guest house in Tehran. Mr Birawi is a high-profile British-Palestinian activist linked to several charities and organisations and helped organise protests against Israel in London since the outbreak of the Gaza war. He is a trustee of UK-registered charity, Education Aid for Palestinians, which has spent more than £2 million on activities since 2019. In a Facebook post following the Israeli operation on Sunday, Mr Birawi wrote: 'In a piracy operation in international waters and 150 nautical miles from Palestinian waters, the Israeli navy took control of the ship Madleen and abducted the allies on board. 'The Freedom Flag Alliance demands international intervention to ensure their safety and release.' Writing about the Madleen mission earlier this month, Mr Birawi wrote: 'It carries a message of solidarity with Gaza, a message of defiance and determination to continue popular efforts to break the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip.' He added that it was 'an affirmation of the Palestinians' fundamental right to communicate with the world by sea and their right to establish a humanitarian corridor to bring in aid and relief supplies during the war of extermination waged by the Israeli occupation state against Gaza.' As the chairman of EuroPal Forum, Mr Birawi delivered a letter in Whitehall to the Cabinet condemning Israel. 'What we are witnessing is not a war – it is a genocide and the systematic erasure of a people,' he said. 'The Israeli leadership is not hiding its objectives; it is openly pursuing ethnic cleansing while the world watches. The UK must rise above platitudes and take concrete action to halt complicity in these crimes.' He also met Jeremy Corbyn in Parliament six months before the politician became Labour leader in 2015. Mr Birawi took legal action against a financial database after NatWest closed his account. He claimed the database had 'wrongly and without justification or evidence classified him on a terrorism list'. 'My legal team relied primarily on the fact that there has never been any legal sentence passed against me by any official authority in any state anywhere in the world, and that never have I been found to have been involved in any illegal acts which could be deemed within the scope of terrorism crimes,' Mr Birawi was quoted as saying at the time. He claimed the database had relied on lists prepared by Israel and inaccurate news websites 'likely driven by political motives and agendas not based on objective evidence which caused hurt and damage to me'. The company behind the database denied it had a terror list but gathered information in the public domain. If it was 'incorrect or updated', that was reflected in the database. Mr Birawi has been approached for comment. Drones surrounded the Madleen yacht and dropped a 'white irritant substance' before soldiers boarded around 2am BST, according to the group behind her mission. Ms Thunberg and 11 other passengers from the Madleen are being taken to the Israeli port of Ashdod, where the IDF has been ordered to show them a video of Hamas's October 7 attack. Then, they will be deported. The activists had set out to protest Israel's ongoing military campaign in the Gaza Strip, and its restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which had organised the voyage, said the activists were 'kidnapped by Israeli forces' while trying to deliver desperately needed aid to the territory. 'The ship was unlawfully boarded, its unarmed civilian crew abducted, and its life-saving cargo—including baby formula, food and medical supplies—confiscated,' it said in a statement. Israel's foreign ministry portrayed the voyage as a public relations stunt, saying in a post on X that 'the 'selfie yacht' of the 'celebrities' is safely making its way to the shores of Israel.' 'The show is over,' it added. Footage shows Israeli military personnel handing out sandwiches and water to the activists, who were wearing orange life vests. Ms Thunberg, 22, a prominent climate campaigner, was joined by other pro-Gaza activists, including Game of Thrones actor Liam Cunningham, and European parliamentarian Rima Hassan. Israel's foreign ministry said their aid would be delivered to Gaza 'through real humanitarian channels.'
