The Treasury Department is sanctioning a “sham charity” over its fundraising support for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a group that’s been designated by U.S. officials as a terrorist organization.
Officials said the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, or “Samidoun,” raised money for the PFLP in Europe and North America.
House Republicans on Wednesday applauded the step as an overdue response to their calls to strip tax-exempt status from organizations linked to terrorists.
“I am encouraged that Treasury is finally acting on calls by Ways and Means Republicans to go after organizations tied to foreign terrorist organizations,” said House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith, Missouri Republican. “Americans are disgusted to learn their tax dollars have subsidized groups like Samidoun, who organize illegal activity here in America and provide support for terrorist organizations overseas.”
The U.S. Treasury, alongside Canadian authorities, cracked down on Vancouver-based Samidoun.
Department officials said Samidoun “ostensibly supports Palestinian prisoners and their family members,” though in practice served as a front to raise money in places where the PFLP is labeled a terrorist group.
The group attracted increased scrutiny in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023 terror raids on southern Israel by Palestinian militants in Hamas. Israel struck back with a military campaign in Gaza, sparking protests on U.S. college campuses.
In a statement, Samidoun condemned the sanctions as an attempt to silence the group.
“These decisions come at a time when the Zionist entity continues its genocide and massacres in Gaza, all of Palestine and Lebanon with full support from the U.S., Canada and the European Union,” the organization said. “It is a coordinated attempt by the enemies of the Palestinian people to stop every form of solidarity with the Palestinian people and political organizing efforts to end Israel’s genocide, crimes against humanity and occupation.”
It said it will continue to speak out about Palestinian issues.
“We want to stress that Samidoun does not have any material or organizational ties to entities listed on the terrorist lists of the United States, Canada or the European Union,” it said.
The Treasury also sanctioned Khaled Barakat, a Canadian citizen and a member of the PFLP who, according to the department, has acknowledged the PFLP’s affiliation with Samidoun.
The sanctions block transactions with designated groups and require all of their property to be reported to the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Samidoun was banned in Germany in November 2023.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hailed the sanctions as a positive step.
“Samidoun — a front organization that acts in association with terrorist groups like the PFLP — is now a listed terrorist entity in Canada and the United States,” he wrote X. “That’s part of our joint work with the U.S. to expose terrorist activities and intercept their financing.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.