{"id":253379,"date":"2026-01-23T10:24:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T10:24:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/253379\/"},"modified":"2026-01-23T10:24:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T10:24:09","slug":"us-sanctions-hamas-linked-british-national-behind-gaza-flotillas-the-jewish-chronicle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/253379\/","title":{"rendered":"US sanctions \u2018Hamas-linked\u2019 British national behind Gaza flotillas – The Jewish Chronicle"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ofac\u00a0claimed that he\u00a0\u201cmaterially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, the PCPA.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the UK, HM Treasury\u00a0is also reportedly investigating allegations concerning Zaher Birawi\u00a0following claims made in Parliament that he represents a \u201csecurity risk\u201d due to his alleged links to the Islamist terror group.<\/p>\n

A British national, Birawi is a media and public relations spokesperson at the Palestinian Forum in Britain (PFB) and was a presenter on the Al Hiwar TV channel for more than a decade up until September 2023.<\/p>\n

Having moved to Britain from the West Bank in the early 1990s, he was described by Israeli authorities\u00a0in 2013 as a senior Hamas operative in Europe.<\/p>\n

Following the Government\u2019s recognition of the State of Palestine in September last year, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he would take action over suspected Hamas officials and operatives in Britain.<\/p>\n

Birawi\u00a0has helped to organise several protests against Israel in London since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.<\/p>\n

In 2023, he\u00a0denied any link to Hamas, saying: “I am a law-abiding British citizen of Palestinian origin who carries out his obligations as an activist defending the national and human rights of Palestinians who survive under occupation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ZaherZaher Birawi (R) at an award ceremony for the Association of Students for Palestinian Advocacy in November 2024 (Image: Instagram\/ZaherBirawi)[Missing Credit]<\/a> <\/p>\n

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said it is \u201cgood to see\u201d the US take action against Birawi.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnder no circumstances should Britain be a place of sanctuary for anyone involved in or supportive of terrorist organisations like Hamas.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe police must investigate Birawi for terror offences immediately, and the prime minister should make good on his word, follow the US\u2019s lead, and sanction him.<\/p>\n

\u201cHamas brutally murdered, raped and kidnapped over one thousand innocent women and men. Their supporters have no place in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Labour MP Joani Reid, chair of the\u00a0All-Party Parliamentary Group Against Antisemitism, said that\u00a0the UK \u201cshould now move to impose its own sanctions\u201d.<\/p>\n

“Individuals who support of facilitate Hamas should not be able to organise or operate openly in Britain. Our sanctions framework exists for these circumstances and should be used decisively,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

And Alex Hearn from Labour Against Antisemitism said: \u201cWhile the US Treasury sanctions Zaher Birawi for his role in Hamas’s European operations, he continues to broadcast from London, organise flotillas, and chair organisations designated as terror-affiliated.<\/p>\n

\u201cBritain’s failure to act against someone named in parliament as a senior Hamas operative is a glaring security failure. The UK can no longer afford to be a safe haven for Hamas’s international network.\u201d<\/p>\n

Birawi has been approached for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ofac\u00a0claimed that he\u00a0\u201cmaterially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":253380,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[234,3063,85,46,43,4321],"class_list":{"0":"post-253379","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-israel","8":"tag-government","9":"tag-greta-thunberg","10":"tag-il","11":"tag-israel","12":"tag-news","13":"tag-sanctions"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253379","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=253379"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253379\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/253380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}