Zaher Birawi

Zaher Khalid Birawi
Born1961 (age 64)[1][2]
EducationUniversity of Sheffield
Occupationactivist

Zaher Khalid Birawi (born 1961)[3] is a Palestinian-British activist and political organiser based in London.

Career

Born in the West Bank, Birawi studied at the University of Sheffield and has resided in the United Kingdom since the 1990s.[2][4] He is a journalist for Al-Hiwar, an Arabic-language television channel in London.[4] Until 2009, he was a director of the Palestinian Return Centre, an organization based in London that advocates for the Palestinian right of return.[5] He is chairman of the International Committee to Break the Siege on Gaza.[6][7] He was a spokesman for the 2009 aid convoy to Gaza led by George Galloway, which had been stopped in the Jordanian port of Aqaba due to refusal by the Egyptian government to allow them to enter Egyptian territory from there.[8] He also was an organiser and spokesman for the 2010 Gaza Freedom Flotilla as leader of the Palestinian Conference for Palestinians (PCPA),[6] and says he is a founding member of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which organised the June 2025 Gaza Freedom Flotilla, notably involving Greta Thunberg.[1][9]

He is chairman of the EuroPal Forum and a trustee for Education Aid for Palestinians.[10] He defended a January 2023 campaign by the Forum, which was criticised by Israeli NGO Ad Kan and Israeli Minister Amichai Chikli as an attempt to delegitimize Israel. The campaign depicted Israeli politicians as racist by quoting members of the Israeli cabinet.[11][12] He has also participated in protests against the Gaza war, and wrote a letter to the UK Cabinet accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.[4][10]

The Israeli government designated Birawi as a "Hamas operative" in 2013. In 2023, MP Christian Wakeford stated that Israel considers Birawi a "Hamas operative" in the House of Commons.[10][13][14] On January 21, 2026, Birawi was added to the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)'s Specially Designated Nationals list under it's Counter Terrorism Designations.[15] The designation cited his role as a senior leader and founding member of the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA), which was simultaneously added to the U.S. Specially Designated Nationals list, also under Counter Terrorism measures.[16] The U.S. government stated that it believes the PCPA is controlled by Hamas and has been involved in activities supporting that group and that Birawi was designated for materially assisting and supporting the organization.[15][16][17]

References

  1. ^ a b White, Debbie (11 June 2025). "Man behind Greta Thunberg's Gaza flotilla is 'Hamas operative'". www.thetimes.com. Archived from the original on 10 June 2025. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
  2. ^ a b Parker, Ali Mitib, Mario Ledwith, Charlie (10 November 2023). "What are the Pro-Palestinian protests about and who is organising them?". The Times of London. Retrieved 8 December 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ "A Hamász londoni megbízottja segít szervezni Greta Thunbergék Izrael-ellenes flottilláit". euronews (in Hungarian). 2 September 2025. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
  4. ^ a b c "Zaher Birawi, the Palestinian-British activist identified by Israel as a Hamas link and a key figure in the flotillas to Gaza". ABC International. 2 October 2025.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  5. ^ Parker, Oliver Moody, Berlin | Fiona Hamilton, Chief Reporter | Charlie (22 December 2023). "The British activist accused of being a key Hamas ally". The Times of London. Retrieved 20 October 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ a b Fabian, Emanuel (30 September 2025). "Documents from Gaza show Hamas's 'direct involvement' with aid flotilla, Israel claims". The Times of Israel. ISSN 0040-7909. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
  7. ^ "Largest Gaza aid flotilla sets sail as famine deepens". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 14 December 2025.
  8. ^ "Un convoi d'aide à Gaza bloqué en Jordanie, médiation turque". L'Orient-Le Jour (in French). 27 December 2009. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
  9. ^ Sawer, Patrick (20 December 2025). "Starmer considers sanctions on 'Hamas leader'". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 22 December 2025.
  10. ^ a b c Hymas, Charles. "London-based 'Hamas operative' behind Greta Thunberg's Gaza flotilla". The Telegraph. Retrieved 20 October 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  11. ^ "Palestinian campaign against racism accused of 'smearing' Israeli politicians". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
  12. ^ "UK group slammed after using Israeli MKs in pro-Palestinian adverts". 23 January 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
  13. ^ White, Debbie (11 June 2025). "Man behind Greta Thunberg's Gaza flotilla is 'Hamas operative'". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  14. ^ Editor, Tom Ball | David Woode, Crime (19 December 2025). "'Hamas operative' behind group organising pro-Palestine marches". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 16 February 2026. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ a b "Counter Terrorism Designations and Designations Removals | Office of Foreign Assets Control". ofac.treasury.gov. Retrieved 3 February 2026.
  16. ^ a b "Treasury Exposes and Disrupts Hamas's Covert Support Network". U.S. Department of the Treasury. 23 December 2025. Retrieved 3 February 2026.
  17. ^ "US sanctions UK-based alleged Hamas member". The Jerusalem Post. 25 January 2026. ISSN 0792-822X. Retrieved 3 February 2026.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.