Prominent Palestinian activists based in Europe have accused the US of imposing sanctions against him, calling the move an attempt to deter him “from continuing to work for Palestine and advocate for the rights of his people.” He denied it.
Majid al-Shir, a dual British-Jordanian, also denied the charges cited in the sanctions, calling them “completely false.”
“It’s crazy,” he told Al Jazeera on Thursday. “My social life and career are affected because of the accusations. There is no proof.”
Alshiel explained that he learned about the sanctions through media reports earlier this week. The U.S. Treasury Department on Monday identified al-Shir as one of three people sanctioned for alleged ties to the Palestinian group Hamas, calling it a “terrorist” organization.
The Treasury accused al-Shir, who lives in the UK and Germany, of being a “senior representative of Hamas” and playing a “central role in the terrorist organization’s European financing.”
However, Al Shir, chairman of the European-Palestinian Political Relations Council, refuted this accusation in a press release on Thursday.
Speaking later to Al Jazeera, he explained that he had not engaged in any financial activity during his years of activism in Europe, including during his time as chairman of the UK-based advocacy group Palestine Return Center.
“Israel doesn’t want activists working for Palestine. That’s the whole story,” he said.
Does it reflect the relationship between America and Israel?
For al-Shir, the US decision reflects “extensive collaboration” with Israel.
The United States has been a staunch ally of Israel since its founding in 1948. That assistance continues despite Israel’s current war in Gaza, raising concerns about civilian casualties and human rights abuses.
“We are extremely perplexed by the approach taken to make and announce this decision by a country that should be proud of its legal integrity,” Al Shir said in a press release.
The sanctions were announced on October 7, the anniversary of the Hamas attack on southern Israel that killed an estimated 1,139 people.
Meanwhile, Israel’s response in Gaza has killed some 42,000 Palestinians in the year since then.
Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen said in a statement: “As we mark the one-year anniversary of Hamas’s brutal terrorist attack, the[Treasury]recognizes that Hamas and other destabilizing Iranian proxies financed operations. , will continue to inexorably reduce their ability to carry out further acts of violence.” .
Al Shir was sanctioned along with three other individuals and nine companies that the U.S. Treasury Department said “played a significant role in external financing for Hamas, often under the guise of philanthropy.” It became.
The other two named are based in Italy and Austria and are involved with Palestinian rights organizations. The Treasury also named a former Yemeni politician living in Türkiye and his business.
“Funny” evidence
The sanctions effectively freeze the four men’s assets in the United States and prevent people in the United States from doing business with them.
“The Treasury Department intends to use all available tools to hold Hamas and its promoters accountable, including those who seek to exploit the situation to secure additional revenue sources,” Yellen said. ” he said.
The United States has announced several rounds of sanctions aimed at providing financial support to Hamas. It also imposed sanctions on a small number of Israeli settlers and organizations that support illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Monday’s sanctions are not the first time Al-Shir has been accused of being a Hamas operative. In 2019, he won a lawsuit after WorldCheck, an influential customer screening database used by banks, classified him as linked to “terrorism.”
Al Shir said the U.S. sanctions cited a photo of him with the late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, whom Israel assassinated in Iran earlier this year.
But he insisted the photo was taken as part of a larger delegation that included several European representatives, including British Labor leader Sir Gerald Kaufman. “It’s almost laughable,” he said of the evidence.
He promised to fight the charges. “With the support of my legal team, I have already begun the necessary legal proceedings to contest these baseless allegations and protect my rights.”
