Samidoun Terror Group Hosts Hamas Leader for Webinar with Student Groups
The U.S.-designated terror group hosted Doha-based Basem Naim in a webinar geared towards students in the West where he urged increased global backing for Palestinian resistance.
On June 9, 2025, Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network (Samidoun), a group sanctioned by both the United States and Canada as a terrorist organization, hosted an online seminar featuring Dr. Basem Naim, a senior figure in the Hamas Political Bureau. During the event, which was publicized on Samidoun’s official website, Naim spoke on “the importance of escalating global support for Palestinian resistance.” The participation of a high-profile Hamas leader, and the involvement of Samidoun may renew concerns among Western governments about the influence of sanctioned terrorist entities in civil society forums especially when student and youth groups are invited.
Samidoun’s Terrorist Sanctions and New Proxy Groups
Samidoun, founded in 2011, presents itself as an advocacy network for Palestinian prisoners. However, in 2024, The United States in a joint operation with Canada officially designated Samidoun as a sham charity that serves as an international fundraiser for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist organization and sanctioned it as such through the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
The Webinar Content and Participating Groups
The June 9th webinar, according to Samidoun’s announcement, featured Dr. Basem Naim as the keynote speaker. Naim is a prominent member of Hamas’s political bureau and a former Gaza health minister. During the event, the Hamas leader called on “popular and revolutionary forces around the world to regard the Al-Aqsa Flood as their own collective and individual battle, and to escalate actions to support the Palestinian resistance in all its forms.”
The event was attended by activists and representatives from 24 countries Europe, North America, and the Middle East including the two front groups for Samidoun- Masar Badil and its youth and student arm Tariq El-Tahrir Youth and Student Network whom Samidoun invited to participate.
Samidoun-affiliated Youth Group and it’s Open Support Letter of D.C. Shooter
Founded in 2024, Tariq El-Tahrir Student and Youth Network considers itself a unifying and organizing arm for pro-Palestine related youth and student movements throughout the United States and the world on behalf of the Samidoun front, Masar Badil. The organization calls to, “escalate the struggle at all levels, in all locations, regions and arenas, and confronting the U.S., Canadian and European Countries.” They refer to the United States as the “empirical core” and urge “resistance” from within.
Tariq El-Tahrir Youth and Student Network, recently organized and wrote an open letter which has now been signed by 48 organizations, including American student groups, in support of Elias Rodriguez’s shooting of Israeli diplomats Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky outside of the Capital Jewish Museum.
The letter calls Rodriguez's killing of the Israeli diplomats "eminently defensible," and "morally righteous." It also states that his actions may “fundamentally alter the trajectory of the international movement against zionism and US-led imperialism,” and urges readers to "GLOBALIZE THE INTIFADA.” Messages all echoed by Basem Naim in the Samidoun hosted webinar.
Who is Basem Naim?
Dr. Basem Naim has held several senior positions within Hamas, including Minister of Health and Minister of Youth and Sports in the Gaza Strip. He currently serves as a member of the Hamas political bureau and often acts as an international spokesperson for the group from Doha, Qatar and part of Hamas’ negotiation team.
Hamas was designated a terrorist organization by the United States in 1997, citing its long record of orchestrating suicide bombings, rocket attacks, and other acts targeting civilians. Naim has publicly defended Hamas’ terrorist operations, including October 7th, stating he has no regrets echoing the beliefs that the Tariq El-Tahrir Youth and Student Network is trying to widely publicize amongst other western youth groups.
So when we hear the expression “Gaza Health Ministry” that is these are the kind of people we are talking about