Terrorism-linked NGO Samidoun is active and expanding its presence in Sweden, NGO Monitor reported this week.
Samidoun, which is designated as a terrorist entity by Israel, Germany, the US, and Canada, is closely linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and also promotes other EU-designated terrorist groups, including Hamas and Hezbollah.
According to Israel, Samidoun “play[s] a leading and significant role in the PFLP’s anti-Israel propaganda efforts, fundraising, and recruiting activists,” and serves as a “front for the PFLP abroad.”
According to the US Department of the Treasury, Samidoun is a sham charity that serves as an international fundraiser for the PFLP terrorist organization. It designated Samidoun head Khaled Barakat as “a member of the PFLP’s leadership” who played a “critical role in external fundraising for the PFLP.”
NGO Monitor’s new report documents how Samidoun is expanding its operations in Sweden and organizing nationwide demonstrations that promote “armed resistance.”
Samidoun has chapters in Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmo that organize and participate in demonstrations and protests across Sweden.
The NGO's reaction to the October 7 attacks
On October 7, 2025, Samidoun Gothenburg said in a statement: “The seventh of October is now and will remain a great revolutionary event, a moment celebrated by the oppressed peoples and nations of the world as a historic moment in the anti-colonial and anti-imperialist struggle, and which will live on after liberation as a milestone on the road to victory.”
On October 10, 2023, three days after the October 7 massacre, Samidoun Sweden held an event, “Book Circle: Strategy for the Liberation of Palestine,” which involved a reading of the foundational text of the PFLP.
On November 23, 2025, Samidoun Gothenburg co-organized a demonstration in “support of the resistance.” NGO Monitor found it had included promotional materials for Hamas and the PFLP. The demonstration was followed by an event commemorating Izz ad-Din al-Qassam, the Muslim Brotherhood figure who is the namesake of Hamas’s so-called military wing, Izzadin al-Qassam.
On October 12, 2025, a Samidoun Gothenburg member said during a speech at a demonstration: “The united armed resistance, led by the [Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades] and backed by a determined people, has stood strong through all this and forced the occupation to an agreement. The ceasefire is a statement of strength for the Palestinian resistance, and it is worth rejoicing over.”
On July 6, 2025, during an Iranian ballistic-missile attack against Israel, a Samidoun Gothenburg member said in a speech at a demonstration: “I feel hope as the rockets fall over Tel Aviv... Death to Israel. Death to the USA. Glory to the martyrs. Long live the resistance. Long live Palestine.”
Samidoun's pro-terror activities
On November 29, 2024, a Samidoun Gothenburg member said during a “cultural evening for Palestine” that was arranged by the cultural association Solens Port: “PFLP, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, the organizations that are building the armed resistance are not terrorists. They are our comrades. They are our heroes.”
There are a plethora of other examples of how Samidoun Sweden members have disseminated pro-PFLP materials, invited PFLP figures, or held demonstrations in support of terrorist groups.
“Swedish authorities should investigate Samidoun’s activities, affiliations, and operations in Sweden in light of its ties to EU-designated terrorist organizations, its promotion of “armed resistance,” and its glorification of the October 7 massacre,” NGO Monitor said.
He was arrested and detained at Heraklion Airport as he was en route to a speaking engagement in Crete. Khatib was told he was inadmissible to Greece due to reasons of “national security.”
Last August, Belgium revoked Khatib’s refugee status, which he had held since 2015.
He is registered as a “hate preacher” with the Belgian Coordination Unit for Threat Analysis (CUTA) due to his overt support for Palestinian armed resistance and his “respect” for Hamas and the PFLP.