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Zahir Birawi, described in the British Parliament as a person with links to Hamas, called himself a “founding member” of the Freedom Flotilla International Coalition, which arranged the recent failed Madleen yacht stunt to nowhere.
Birawi, a Palestinian-British journalist at an Arabic-language satellite TV channel in London, was at the launch of the Madleen, livestreaming it in Sicily. The Swedish activist Greta Thunberg gave a speech before the boat set sail for Gaza.
Some history, In 2013, Birawi was named by Israel as a Hamas operative in Europe. He is the head of the Europal Forum, which Israel designated as a terrorist organization, but Birawi denied being involved in any illegal acts within the scope of terrorism crimes.
However, speaking in the Commons in October 2023, Christian Wakeford, the Labour MP for Bury South, used parliamentary privilege to name 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.
Christian Wakeford added, “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.
However, Zahir Birawi was photographed in 2012 with Ismail Haniyeh, the former Hamas leader who was assassinated in Iran last year by an explosive device suspected to have been placed by Israeli agents in his guest house in Tehran.
Birawi is linked to several charities and organizations and has helped organize protests against Israel in London since the outbreak of the Gaza war initiated by Palestinian terrorists out of Gaza.
In a Facebook post following the Israeli operation that brought the Thunberg yacht to Ashdod, Birawi was quick to write, “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.”
Birawi wrote of the Madleen mission earlier this month: “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.”
As the chairman of EuroPal Forum, Birawi delivered a letter 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 wrote.
“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.”
In a Facebook post following the Israeli operation on Sunday, 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.”
As the chairman of EuroPal Forum, Birawi delivered a letter 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 wrote.
“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.”
It is clear that Birawi is a constant supporter of the Hamas control in Gaza that has wrought death and disaster on Israelis and Gazans alike, yet even with evidence of his close alliance with top Hamas terror leaders including Ismail Haniyeh, Birawi studiously excludes reference to Hamas and Islamic Jihad out of all his public statements.
It is as if Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad do not exist.
This is the known policy of deadly Palestinian deception that began with Arafat who killed more Israelis after being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize than he had murdered before.
Arafat promised us “Peace of the Brave.”
Instead, he delivered us peace of the grave.
Beware deceptive people posing as victims while embracing a death cult.
Barry Shaw
The View from Israel
But do you even believe the things you write?
Yours is pure Zionist propaganda, the real Jews are against the genocide in Gaza.
Wake up.
Hello from Italy.