Netherlands bans Palestinian activist Mohammed Khatib from entering the country

Controversial Palestinian activist Mohammed Khatib will not be allowed to enter the Netherlands to deliver a speech during an event at Radboud University in Nijmegen next week. Khatib’s arrival was declared to be “highly undesirable,” said Justice and Security Minister David van Weel and Asylum Minister Marjolein Faber in a joint statement on Friday.

Khatib "legitimizes, condones and glorifies violence against the State of Israel, including violence by organizations on the European Union's terrorist list," according to Van Weel and Faber. "He also actively expresses his support for terrorist organizations. These statements can have a radicalizing effect."

The ministers said this was enough to justify the entry ban. They argued it outweighed concerns about free speech protections in their statement.

"Freedom of speech is a great asset," the ministers emphasized. "There may be a rough spot here, but it is within the democratic values that we have agreed upon."

Khatib's planned arrival sparked outrage because he condones the gruesome Hamas terrorist attack against Israel that took place on October 7, 2023. The assault on civilians across the border from the Gaza Strip, and the kidnapping of 251 triggered a new war between Israel and Hamas, and extensive bloodshed in the region as a result.

"There is absolutely no place in the Netherlands for sowing hatred and glorifying violence," the two ministers said.

The cabinet also expressed support for a German proposal to put Samidoun, the organization to which Khatib belongs, on the European sanctions list. "This will allow us to impose sanctions at the European level, such as freezing assets."

Radboud University was not yet willing to comment when asked for a reaction. "We are waiting for formal confirmation and will then respond," said a spokesperson for the institution.