The Canadian government is listing Samidoun, also known as the Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code.
“Violent extremism, acts of terrorism or terrorist financing have no place in Canadian society or abroad,” said Public Safety
Minister Dominic LeBlanc in an Oct. 15 release. "The listing of Samidoun as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code sends a strong message that Canada will not tolerate this type of activity, and will do everything in its power to counter the ongoing threat to Canada’s national security and all people in Canada.”
By being listed as a terrorist group, activities related to Samidoun’s financing, travel, and recruitment are now restricted. It is also a criminal offence for Canadians to knowingly engage with property owned by Samidoun, or directly or indirectly provide property knowing that it will be used to benefit the group.
Public Safety Canada said the listing of Samidoun was done in coordination with the U.S. Department of the Treasury, which on the same day announced in a
release the group is a specially designated global terrorist.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said Samidoun would be designated a “sham charity that serves as an international fundraiser for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist organization,” according to the release.
Samidoun said in an Oct. 16 statement that Ottawa’s labelling the group as a terrorist organization was an attempt to “repress political organizing in support of the Palestinian people’s struggle against genocide, colonialism and occupation.”
An organization founded in 2011 that describes itself as a solidarity network for Palestinian inmates in Israeli prisons, Samidoun has long been accused of being associated with the PFLP. The Canadian government
added PFLP to the list of terrorist entities in 2003.
Public Safety Canada said many of the Palestinian prisoners that Samidoun advocates for “have ties to terrorism, assassinations and countless attacks against Israel.” The agency said the organization’s ideology revolves around the worldview “that Israel and Zionism are the greatest danger to the Middle East and the world.”
“Their main goals are the destruction of Israel and establishing a Palestinian state in its place. To achieve this goal, Samidoun advocates all kinds of activities, including violence,” said public safety.
The Israeli government has described Samidoun’s leader Khaled Barakat as a high-ranking member of the PFLP and classified Samidoun as a subsidiary of the group in 2021. The German government
banned Samidoun in 2023, saying Samidoun has supported several foreign terrorist organizations such as Hamas.
Samidoun’s activities received increased attention in Canada during the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack against Israel by Hamas, which killed about 1,200 people. Members of Samidoun were gathered at the Vancouver Art Gallery on Oct. 7 and heard
chanting, “Long live October 7,” and “Death to Canada, Death to the United States, and Death to Israel.” Demonstrators were also seen burning the Canadian flag.
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs said it welcomed the “long-overdue” decision of listing Samidoun as a terrorist entity, adding that the act sets a precedent that “organizations that promote violence and hate will not be tolerated in Canada.”
“Listing the group as a terrorist entity means they will no longer be able to use our streets as a platform to incite hate and division against the Jewish community. This is a significant step toward ensuring the safety and security of Canada’s Jews,” the group said i
n an Oct. 15 press release.
