The European Palestinian Council for Political Relations (EUPAC) and its Alleged Ties to Hamas

The European Palestinian Council for Political Relations (EUPAC) was recently established in Brussels and is located at the Schumann Roundabout, in close proximity to the European Commission’s headquarters.

While its formal mission is to engage in Palestinian advocacy and political outreach at the European level, recent reports have raised serious questions regarding the organisation’s leadership and potential connections to Hamas, a group classified as a terrorist organisation by the European Union, the United States, and several other countries.

At the centre of the controversy surrounding EUPAC is its chairman, Majed Al-Zeer, a figure who has long been involved in Palestinian political activism across Europe.

Al-Zeer, who was born in Bethlehem in 1962, has become the subject of scrutiny not only because of his leadership in Palestinian groups but also because of his alleged connections to Hamas.

Majed Al-Zeer: A Figure with Deep Ties to Palestinian Advocacy

Majed Al-Zeer’s political career began in earnest after he left Palestine for Britain in the 1990s. According to various reports, including a 2023 piece in The Times, Al-Zeer is considered “Hamas’s key liaison in Europe with numerous alleged links to the terrorist organisation.”

Belgian news outlet 7sur7 has also reported on the connections, asking the question “who is the European leader of Hamas”? 

In Britain, Al-Zeer co-founded the Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) in 1996, an organisation that advocates for the Palestinian right of return.

This issue is among the most contentious in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict because its full implementation would result in a demographic shift that could threaten the Jewish majority in Israel, a scenario that Israel considers a form of existential threat.

The PRC, while ostensibly focused on refugee advocacy, has also faced allegations of connections to Hamas. Israel has long asserted that the group operates as a cover for Hamas’s activities in Europe, though these allegations have not led to formal charges.

NGO Monitor has alleged multiple connections between PRC and Hamas.

However, Al-Zeer’s association with Hamas has not been limited to his activities in Britain. A file from the German interior ministry, first reported by the German news magazine Der Spiegel, described Al-Zeer as “the person responsible for Hamas in Germany and across Europe.”

On November 16th  of last year,  Christian Wakeford, British Labour MP for Bury South, using parliamentary privilege, identified Al-Zeer as one of four alleged ‘Hamas operatives’ and asked what the Home Office was doing about them.

Al-Zeer relocated to Berlin in 2014, where he is believed to have continued his involvement with Hamas-affiliated groups.

He is also reported to have an influential role in at least two European-based Palestinian organisations, which have been linked to Hamas by both German and Israeli intelligence agencies.

Despite these allegations, government attempts to formally charge Al-Zeer with criminal activity have so far not succeeded. This lack of legal action has drawn frustration from some quarters, given the severity of the accusations levied against him.

In the wake of the deadly attacks on Israeli civilians carried out by Hamas on October 7th, 2023, where more than a thousand people were killed, German authorities banned the group outright.

This step represented a hardening of the country’s stance towards Hamas and individuals associated with the organisation. Al-Zeer, given his position as an alleged Hamas representative in Germany, has come under even closer scrutiny since the ban, although no successful legal action has been taken against him at the time of writing.

Muhammad Hannoun: EUPAC’s Deputy Chairman

The alleged connections between EUPAC and Hamas are not limited to Al-Zeer. Muhammad Hannoun, the Deputy Chairman of EUPAC, has also been implicated in suspicious activities.

Hannoun, a resident of Genoa, Italy, has reportedly been linked to financial networks associated with Hamas. According to the Italian newspaper Il Giornale, Hannoun was reported to the Anti-Money Laundering Authority for allegedly financing individuals connected to “a Palestinian terrorist organisation” believed to be Hamas.

These financial networks are seen by many security agencies as a key lifeline for Hamas’s activities in Europe, and Hannoun’s suspected involvement has only fueled concerns about EUPAC’s broader agenda.

EUPAC’s Role and the European Response

Despite the serious accusations surrounding its leadership, EUPAC has continued to function in Europe and was involved in the organisation of an event at the Brussels Press Club just 12 days after Hamas’s October 2023 atrocities in Israel.

During this event, presented in the name of the Council of Arab Ambassadors in Brussels, speakers appealed for European support, adopting a “that was then, this is now” narrative that sought separate the events of October 7th from Hamas’ current political efforts.

This approach was met by the journalists present with disbelief, given the timing of the appeal, the venue, and the severity of Hamas’s actions in Israel.

This incident highlights a broader challenge in European politics: how to navigate advocacy groups with alleged ties to militant organisations, particularly when those groups operate under the guise of legitimate political representation.

While EUPAC’s advocacy efforts are officially framed as promoting Palestinian rights and fostering political relations, the alleged involvement of its leaders with Hamas has raised concerns about its true purpose.

Legal and Political Challenges

One of the most pressing questions surrounding figures like Majed Al-Zeer and Muhammad Hannoun is why formal charges have not been successfully brought against them, despite the allegations. In Al-Zeer’s case, the German interior ministry has explicitly named him as a key Hamas representative in Europe, yet efforts to prosecute him have been unsuccessful.

This could be attributed to a variety of factors, including insufficient evidence to meet the legal standards required for a conviction, as well as the complexity of Hamas’s operational structure in Europe.

Hamas is adept at masking its operations through a network of front organisations, making it difficult for authorities to definitively link individuals like Al-Zeer and Hannoun to the group’s activities.

The PRC, for example, has long been accused of serving as a front for Hamas in Europe, but it continues to operate in several countries, including Britain, where Al-Zeer once resided.

The group’s ability to navigate the legal landscape in Europe has allowed figures like Al-Zeer and Hannoun to avoid prosecution, even as they remain under close scrutiny by security agencies.

EUPAC, under the leadership of Majed Al-Zeer and Muhammad Hannoun, occupies a precarious position in European politics.

While the organisation presents itself as a legitimate advocate for Palestinian political rights, the allegations that its leaders are closely tied to Hamas cast a shadow over its activities.

Al-Zeer, in particular, has been described as a key Hamas representative in Europe, yet efforts to formally charge him have not succeeded, raising questions about the effectiveness of European legal frameworks in addressing the operations of groups linked to militant organisations.

As the Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues to reverberate across the globe, organisations like EUPAC will likely remain under intense scrutiny.

For European governments, the challenge lies in distinguishing between legitimate political advocacy and the covert operations of militant groups like Hamas, a task that has proven difficult thus far.

In the meantime, the activities of individuals like Al-Zeer and Hannoun will remain a subject of concern for both Israeli and European authorities.

Main Image: via Facebook.

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In line with our policy of welcoming right of reply, EUPAC’s response to this article can be found here: https://www.eupac.org/news/reply-to-the-article-of-eutoday-net-written-by-gary-cartwright-the-european-palestinian-council-for-politic/

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