The US has officially sanctioned UK-based pro-Palestinian activist and alleged senior Hamas member Zaher Birawi due to his role in assisting and supporting a group with ties to Hamas.
Both Birawi and the organization he founded, now serving as its general secretary – the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA) – have been designated, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced last week.
OFAC stated that the PCPA was sanctioned pursuant to amended Executive Order 13224 for being owned, directed by, or having acted on behalf of Hamas. Birawi is sanctioned for materially assisting, sponsoring, or providing financial, material, or technological support to the PCPA.
While the OFAC assured that members of the Palestinian diaspora have a right to gather and advocate for their legitimate political concerns, this right does not extend to support for Hamas, which “through their insidious strategy of hiding behind civilians while using terrorism to attempt to achieve political
aims, both in Gaza and abroad, [puts] innocent lives at risk.”
Moving forward, it added, all property and interests in property of Birawi and the PCPA are blocked and must be reported to the OFAC.
Birawi designated a terrorist by Israel in 2013
The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center stated as early as 2010 that Birawi was a Hamas activist operating in Europe, and he was designated as a terrorist by Israel in 2013.
Birawi runs the Palestinian Forum in Britain (PFB). He gained attention in 2025 for being a key organizer behind the Gaza-bound, Greta Thunberg-championed aid flotilla Madleen.
In September 2025, Israel uncovered documents in Gaza that illustrated direct Hamas involvement in organizing and financing the flotilla. One of the documents contained a detailed list of PCPA activists directly involved in the flotilla operations. In that dossier, Birawi was referred to as the head of the PCPA’s Hamas sector in Britain.
The Jerusalem Post found four mentions of Birawi on Hamas’s Telegram channel as well. Two of these were related to the flotilla in 2025. The other two involved Birawi speaking directly to Hamas’s Al-Aqsa TV.
On November 19, 2021, he told the channel that “Palestine has the right to resist Zionist occupation” and “Hamas is the largest Palestinian political party that won the elections. Britain will soon be forced to apologize for its decision against Hamas.”
In December 2025, it was reported that the UK government was also considering sanctioning Birawi. MP Nick Timothy submitted a question to the chancellor of the exchequer this week regarding whether the UK is still considering such a move.