Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network will be added to the OCAD (Orgaan voor de Coördinatie en de Analyse van de Dreiging, or Coordination Unit for Threat Analysis) database—Belgium’s official registry for tracking terrorism, extremism and radicalization, the Belgian government has announced.
The move is seen as a first step toward a ban.
For the first time, not only individuals but also organizations will be formally monitored through this system. The decision came at the request of the Belgian ministers of interior and justice, respectively Bernard Quintin and Annelies Verlinden.
According to the head of OCAD, Samidoun is not legally classified as a terrorist organization, but it spreads polarizing and extremist narratives that require close monitoring. The Netherlands and Germany have banned Samidoun due to its ties to recognized terrorist groups.
Belgian MP Michael Freilich, who has repeatedly pushed for stricter measures against Samidoun, welcomed the government decision.
“Since the start of this government, I have consistently raised this issue with the ministers of interior and justice. I am very pleased that this important first step has now been taken: the inclusion of Samidoun in the extremism database is a necessary move toward a full ban on this dangerous organization in our country,” he said.
The only Jewish member of the Belgian Parliament, Freilich stressed the deep concerns such organizations cause for minority and vulnerable communities.
According to Israel’s National Bureau for Counter-Terror Financing, Samidoun plays a leading role in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine’s (PFLP) anti-Israel propaganda efforts, fundraising and activist recruitment. The PFLP is recognized as a terrorist group by the United States, Canada, Israel and the European Union.
Samidoun has advocated for the release of terrorists, including PFLP Secretary-General Ahmad Sa’adat, who is serving a 30-year term in Israel for his involvement in planning the 2001 murder of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze’evi in Jerusalem.
Several prominent members of Samidoun are also members of the PFLP. The NGO co-founder and chief coordinator Khaled Barakat is a senior member of the PFLP and the head of the terrorist group abroad. His wife, Samidoun co-founder and international coordinator Charlotte Kates, a New Jersey native, is also a PFLP member.
Kates celebrated the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 massacre as “a brave and heroic operation.”
On Oct. 15, the United States and Canada announced they would be designating Samidoun as a front group for the PFLP.
Germany banned Samidoun in 2023 as part of a crackdown on Hamas terrorist activities in the country, saying it works under the guise of a solidarity group to spread antisemitic hate and anti-Israel propaganda.
Originally published by the European Jewish Press.
