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Mahmoud Khalil Refuses to Condemn Hamas, Visits High-Profile Democrats in DC
Mahmoud Khalil speaks to members of media about the Revolt for Rafah encampment at Columbia University during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in Gaza, in New York City, US, June 1, 2024. Photo: Jeenah Moon via Reuters Connect
Mahmoud Khalil, an anti-Israel activist and former Columbia University graduate student, refused to condemn the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas during an appearance on CNN on Tuesday.
In the contentious interview, Khalil sidestepped repeated questions about Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel, in which Palestinian terrorists murdered about 1,200 people and kidnapped over 250 hostages while perpetrating mass sexual violence.
When pressed by CNN host Pamela Brown whether he would repudiate the group’s mass murder, Khalil said, “I condemn the killing of all civilians — full stop.”
When asked again whether he would condemn Hamas, Khalil deflected, saying that he is “very clear with condemning killing of all civilians.” He then said that it is “disingenuous to ask about condemning Hamas while Palestinians are being starved by Israel.” Khalil urged the anchors to address the “root causes” of the Oct. 7 massacre.
Khalil also toured Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on Tuesday to meet with Democratic members of Congress and share his testimony. Khalil, who gained prominence for spearheading raucous anti-Israel campus protests, held a series of closed-door meetings with several prominent liberal politicians. Many of the lawmakers who met with Khalil are among the most critical voices against Israel on Capitol Hill.
Though the details of the meetings have not been disclosed, several members of Congress who met with Khalil defended student free speech rights and urged an immediate end to the ongoing war in Gaza.
“Students continue to be wrongfully disciplined for exercising their First Amendment rights and protesting a taxpayer-funded genocide in Gaza. Our institutions shouldn’t fuel an authoritative regime by suppressing dissent, and we must continue fighting back,” Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) posted on X.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) described Khalil as a “kind, gentle soul who cares deeply about others’ humanity.”
“I look forward to remaining in contact with Mahmoud as we continue work to center the humanity of families in Gaza, address the unjust and unlawful targeting of students exercising their right to free speech, and protect the fundamental, constitutional rights of everyone who calls this country home,” Pressley posted on social media.
Khalil, a Syrian native and Algerian national who came to the US in 2022, was one of the leaders of the anti-Israel encampment at Columbia University last year, when activists illegally seized parts of the campus and refused to leave unless the school boycotted the world’s lone Jewish state. He was detained by the Trump administration in March after federal agents arrested him at his Manhattan apartment for what the Homeland Security Department described as “activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.” The State Department also alleged that Khalil was supporting Hamas.
The activist was held without charge for more than 100 days at an ICE [US Immigration and Customs Enforcement] facility in Louisiana, where he was reportedly denied access to legal counsel and separated from his newborn son. A federal judge ordered his release in June, ruling that the government failed to prove he posed a threat and suggesting the detention may have violated his First Amendment rights.
Khalil also met with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), one of the most strident critics of Israel in Congress.
“I met with Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian student at Columbia University, who was imprisoned for 104 days by the Trump administration for opposing Netanyahu’s illegal & horrific war in Gaza. Outrageous,” Sanders wrote, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “We must not allow Trump to destroy the First Amendment & freedom to dissent.”
The post Mahmoud Khalil Refuses to Condemn Hamas, Visits High-Profile Democrats in DC first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israeli Military Spokesperson Issues Evacuation Warning for Residents in Gaza City
Smoke and flames rise as an Israeli airstrike hits a house, in Gaza City, September 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Khamis Al-Rifi
The Israeli military’s Arabic spokesperson on Sunday issued a new evacuation warning for residents in a building in Gaza City and surrounding tents, as Israel called again for Hamas to surrender.
It was the second warning for the same building and tents housing displaced families in little over 24 hours.
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Hezbollah Says Lebanon Move on Army Plan Is ‘Opportunity,’ Urges Israel to Commit to Ceasefire
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and members of the cabinet stand as they attend a cabinet session to discuss the army’s plan to disarm Hezbollah, at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, Lebanon, September 5, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
Hezbollah official Mahmoud Qmati told Reuters on Saturday that the group considered Friday’s cabinet session on an army plan to establish a state monopoly on arms “an opportunity to return to wisdom and reason, preventing the country from slipping into the unknown.”
Lebanon’s cabinet on Friday welcomed a plan by the army that would disarm Hezbollah and said the military would begin executing it, without setting a timeframe for implementation and cautioning that the army had limited capabilities.
But it said continued Israeli military operations in Lebanon would hamper the army’s progress. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Lebanese information minister Paul Morcos stopped short of saying the cabinet had formally approved the plan.
Qmati told Reuters that Hezbollah had reached its assessment based on the government’s declaration on Friday that further implementation of a US roadmap on the matter was dependent on Israel’s commitment. He said that without Israel halting strikes and withdrawing its troops from southern Lebanon, Lebanon’s implementation of the plan should remain “suspended until further notice.”
Lebanon’s cabinet last month tasked the army with coming up with a plan that would establish a state monopoly on arms and approved a US roadmap aimed at disarming Hezbollah in exchange for a halt to Israeli military operations in Lebanon.
Qmati said that Hezbollah “unequivocally rejected” those two decisions and expected the Lebanese government to draw up a national defense strategy.
Israel last week signaled it would scale back its military presence in southern Lebanon if the army took action to disarm Hezbollah. Meanwhile, it has continued its strikes, killing four people on Wednesday.
A national divide over Hezbollah’s disarmament has taken center stage in Lebanon since last year’s devastating war with Israel, which upended a power balance long dominated by the Iran-backed Shi’ite Muslim group.
Lebanon is under pressure from the US, Saudi Arabia and Hezbollah’s domestic rivals to disarm the group. But Hezbollah has pushed back, saying it would be a serious misstep to even discuss disarmament while Israel continues its air strikes on Lebanon and occupies swathes of territory in the south.
Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem last month raised the specter of civil war, warning the government against trying to confront the group and saying street protests were possible.
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UK Police Arrest Dozens at Latest Protest for Banned Palestine Action
Demonstrators attend the “Lift The Ban” rally organised by Defend Our Juries, challenging the British government’s proscription of “Palestine Action” under anti-terrorism laws, in Parliament Square, in London, Britain, September 6, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Jasso
British police arrested dozens more people on Saturday under anti-terrorism laws for demonstrating in support of Palestine Action, a pro-Palestinian group banned by the government as a terrorist organization.
Britain banned Palestine Action under anti-terrorism legislation in July after some of its members broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged military planes. The group accuses Britain’s government of complicity in what it says are Israeli war crimes in Gaza.
Police have arrested hundreds of Palestine Action supporters in recent weeks under anti-terrorism legislation, including over 500 in just one day last month, many of them over the age of 60.
On Saturday, hundreds of demonstrators gathered near parliament in central London to protest against the ban on Saturday, with many holding up signs that said: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”
London’s Metropolitan Police said officers had begun arresting those expressing support for Palestine Action. Police did not say how many arrests were made but a Reuters witness said dozens of people were detained.
Palestine Action’s ban, or proscription, puts the group alongside al-Qaeda and ISIS and makes it a crime to support or belong to the organization, punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
“I can be unequivocal, if you show support for Palestine Action – an offense under the Terrorism Act – you will be arrested,” Met Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said on Friday. “We have the officer numbers, custody capacity and all other resources to process as many people as is required.”
Human rights groups have criticized Britain’s decision to ban the group as disproportionate and say it limits the freedom of expression of peaceful protesters.
The government has accused Palestine Action of causing millions of pounds worth of criminal damage and says the ban does not prevent other pro-Palestinian protests.