An anti-Israel NGO praising "armed resistance" is set to conduct a "march of return" at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, on October 29, the group announced on Tuesday.
Palestinian Alternative Revolutionary Path Movement, also known as Masar Badil, is calling on Palestinians and revolutionary groups to join it in an "international Palestinian popular march" in Brussels.
Of the first points that Masar Badil emphasizes in its rallying call, the group called to "affirm the insistence of the Palestinian Arab people to continue their historical struggle, their national liberation movement, and their valiant and legitimate resistance by all means possible, including their natural right to armed resistance in order to defend themselves and achieve their full national rights and aspirations."
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Rally in Brussels
The rally will also call for the expulsion of Israel from the United Nations and the dismantling of the Jewish state altogether.
In line with the mission of the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, which has committed to joining the march, the rally will demand the release of terrorists affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and other Palestinian terrorist organizations. Samidoun is alleged by the Israeli government to be a front of the PFLP.
Masar Badil is led by Khaled Barakat, who is alleged by Israel to be a leader of the PFLP terrorist organization.
Recently, at the Canadian branch of the International League of Peoples' Struggle's (ILPS) 5th assembly, Barakat called for the abolishment of Canada's terrorist entity list, which includes PFLP and other Palestinian terrorist organizations. Masar Badil's October rally will call more broadly for the end of the listing of Palestinian militant organizations as terrorist groups.
"We call for challenging and bringing an end to the so-called 'terror lists' that seek to distort the image of the just and legitimate struggle of the Palestinian people," said the Masar Badil call to action.
Palestinian Alternative Revolutionary Path Movement
"Barakat’s latest endeavor, known as the Palestinian Alternative Revolutionary Path Movement, is so extreme that it outright rejects that Palestinian Authority and calls for a reinstatement of violent clauses that were removed from the Palestinian National Charter," president and CEO of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) Shimon Koffler Fogel noted in a mid-May statement.
The 1968 Palestinian National Charter (PNC), which is displayed on the Masar Badil website under its "Principles" section, calls for the destruction of the state of Israel through armed struggle and rejects Jewish national identity.
"Armed struggle is the only way to liberate Palestine."
PNC Article 9
"Armed struggle is the only way to liberate Palestine," says Article 9 of the PNC. "This it is the overall strategy, not merely a tactical phase. The Palestinian Arab people assert their absolute determination and firm resolution to continue their armed struggle and to work for an armed popular revolution for the liberation of their country and their return to it."
Khaled Barakat
Barakat has been the subject of controversy in Canada, where he lives, since a National Post expose on him in early May which explored his alleged connections to both the PFLP and to the allegedly PFLP affiliated Samidoun — Of which his wife is also a senior member. A debate was held in the Canadian senate following the expose, with one senator calling on the government to deport Barakat from the country.
“There is no secret as to the affiliation and activities of Khaled Barakat."
Israeli Embassy in Canada
“There is no secret as to the affiliation and activities of Khaled Barakat," the Israeli Embassy in Canada told the National Post on June 8. "Over the years, his close ties and even leadership roles in the PFLP were not hidden or disguised."