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A British-Palestinian journalist who has long-been accused of being a “Hamas operative” served as a key figure who helped launch the aid vessel carrying Greta Thunberg and other international activists who were detained by Israel, according to a new report.
Zaher Birawi, 63, the head of the International Committee to Break the Siege on Gaza and founding member of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, was at the launch of the Madleen ship a week ago as he praised Thunberg and the other activists traveling to challenge Israel’s blockade on the Palestinian enclave.
Birawi, who also heads the EuroPal Forum nonprofit to support Palestinians, has been repeatedly accused of having Hamas links, with a 2012 photograph showing him attending an event alongside slain Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh, the Telegraph reported.
Birawi, a vocal critic of Israel’s policies in the Gaza Strip, has repeatedly denied the allegations that he has any links to terrorist crimes. There’s no evidence to suggest Birawi has helped facilitate any of Hamas’ crimes.
The allegations first surfaced in 2013 when Israel identified him as a Hamas operative working in Europe, with his nonprofit labeled a terrorist organization in 2021 for alleged ties to the Palestinian terror group.
The EuroPal Forum has strongly denied any terror links, claiming it was unfairly targeted for its work abroad advocating for Palestinian rights.
Birawi was eventually awarded compensation when he sued the NatWest financial database for allegedly putting him on a terrorism watch list.
“My legal team relied primarily on the fact that there has never been any legal sentence passed against me by any official authority in any state anywhere in the world, and that never have I been found to have been involved in any illegal acts which could be deemed within the scope of terrorism crimes,” Birawi said at the time.
The Palestinian advocate was accused again of being “a Hamas operative” by Labour MP Christian Wakeford following the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack in Israel.
Wakeford used parliamentary privilege to slam Birawi as a “serious national security risk” and accused him of obtaining British citizenship “through the use of fake documents.”
Birawi slammed Wakeford’s claims as baseless. The UK, which like the US lists Hamas as a terrorist group, has not taken action against Birawi.
Birawi did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Birawi has spoken out against Israel’s invasion of Gaza following the Oct. 7 terrorist attack, with the advocate helping organize multiple protests in London against the war.
His latest criticism was aimed at the Israel Defense Forces after the military detained the activists aboard the Madleen on Sunday.
“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,” he wrote over the weekend.
“The Freedom Flag Alliance demands international intervention to ensure their safety and release,” he added.
The Madleen ship, operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, set sail on June 1 with 12 activists onboard, including Thunberg, a Swedish climate campaigner, and Irish actor Liam Cunningham.
The group aboard the charity ship aimed to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza’s refugees, including much-needed baby formula and simple nutrition like rice.
The IDF had repeatedly warned the ship to turn back, vowing that nothing will break the naval blockade in Gaza, which has existed since Hamas seized power in 2007.
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