Belgium strips Samidoun’s European coordinator of refugee status after his praise for the October 7 massacre and open support for Hamas.
In a landmark decision hailed by Jewish leaders, Belgium has revoked the refugee status of Mohammed Khatib, the European coordinator for Samidoun, a radical network accused of glorifying terrorism and promoting antisemitism.
Khatib, who has lived in Belgium since 2015, is now preparing to appeal the ruling by the Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGRS). Authorities cited his deep involvement with Samidoun, an organization that claims to advocate for Palestinian prisoners but has been repeatedly accused of serving as a propaganda arm for EU-listed terror groups.
The decision comes after Khatib’s public celebration of the October 7 Hamas massacre, which killed over 1,200 people in Israel. Just one day after the bloodshed, Samidoun posted a paraglider image with the slogan “From the river to the sea”—a direct nod to the method of attack used by Hamas terrorists that day.
Khatib himself described the massacre as “a normal response” to “colonialism” and called the attackers heroes, openly refusing to recognize Israel’s right to exist and advocating for the dismantling of the Jewish state.
He has also expressed admiration for Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)—both officially designated terrorist organizations by the European Union. In May 2024, Samidoun even hosted a “Resistance Festival” in Brussels, where a senior Hamas official was welcomed as a guest speaker.
Belgian Jewish MP Michael Freilich, special envoy for intercultural dialogue at the European Jewish Association, praised the ruling:
“The time for excuses is over. When you glorify the murder of Nova youth and call it resistance, you have no place in a civilized democracy.”
Belgium has been tightening its stance on extremist groups. Interior Minister Bernard Quintin recently introduced legislation to ban radical organizations, echoing Germany’s 2023 decision to outlaw Samidoun for promoting antisemitism and glorifying Hamas.
Jewish organizations have long sounded the alarm on Samidoun’s activities, warning that the group is part of a wider extremist network exploiting European freedoms to spread terror propaganda.
