Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever announced a new bill to ban extremist and radical organizations in a Thursday session, paving the way for the prohibition of groups such as Samidoun and the Muslim Brotherhood. De Wever’s bill effectively greenlit the original proposal brought by Belgian Minister of Security and the Interior Bernard Quintin.
The bill would permit the prohibition and dissolution of all organizations that “pose a threat to national security or the foundations of the rule of law.”
“The government believes that our liberties and fundamental rights should never be used to undermine the foundations of a free and open society,” De Wever told the Chamber in the recording viewed by The Jerusalem Post.
He said he wanted to follow in the footsteps of France, Germany, and the Netherlands by “implementing an administrative system that allows for banning organizations that pose a grave and ongoing threat to [Belgium’s] democratic values and national security.”
“Organizations like Samidoun glorify terrorist groups and their atrocities but are careful never to be caught explicitly inciting violence,” he continued. “They exploit our freedoms to spread toxic ideologies without committing criminal offenses that would lead to prosecution.”
“We want to put a stop to the activities of any group – regardless of its legal form – that systematically engages in actions that constitute a serious and present danger to society. We want to prevent them from spreading extremist ideas.”
He assured the chamber that the proposed law “does not criminalize opinions or beliefs,” and instead focuses solely on “concrete, repeated, or coordinated behaviors that severely endanger national security or the democratic and constitutional order.” He stressed that there is a strict line between the “legitimate exercise of constitutional freedoms and the abuse of those freedoms to commit violence, intimidation, or institutional destabilization.”
“We will no longer allow the enemies of our democracy and rule of law to go unpunished in our territory,” said Quintin, according to Belgian paper De Standaard. “Zero tolerance applies to any organization that incites hate and violence, undermines national security, and threatens our social cohesion.”
According to the report, Quintin would have the power to make the decision to ban and dissolve a group himself, but only after receiving a relevant report from at least one intelligence agency – for example, State Security, OCAD (the coordination body for threat analysis), the police, or military intelligence.
In addition to a permanent ban, the bill would allow for a temporary ban to be put in place on a group for up to a total of 30 days. A temporary ban would however need approval from the Justice and Defense Ministers. No judge would be involved in the decision to prohibit such groups.
MP Sam van Rooy, who was wearing his hostage pin in the chamber, said, “If Samidoun weren’t a Palestinian import organization but rather a homegrown group just as antisemitic and glorifying of terrorism, it likely would have been banned long ago.”
He criticized De Wever for not taking enough action to date, saying, “A government that cannot even ensure that murderous Muslim terrorists cannot come to Belgium or cannot return to this country is simply not worthy of being a government.”
However, not everyone was happy with the news of the potential bill; several organizations fear it will imbue the government with unprecedented power to silence organizations, De Standaard added. “This gives the government unprecedented power to silence organizations. That’s downright dangerous in a democracy,” said Nadia Cornejo of Greenpeace Belgium.
“This bill doesn’t fill a legal gap; it opens the door to criminalizing activism, social movements, and dissenting voices.”
Others simply felt that the bill was unnecessary. Jogchum Vrielink, a law professor, told De Standaard that while the bill is legally feasible, Belgium already has related laws, such as one on private militias, and asked “What’s the point?” of a new one.
“The acts themselves are already punishable. Banning informal associations has little practical value – as seen in countries where such bans already exist: those involved just immediately start a new group.”
Response from Samidoun
Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network was founded in 2012 by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which is a designated terrorist group in many places due to its history of massacres, plane hijackings, assassinations, and more.
Two of Samidoun’s leaders, Mustapha Awad and Mohammed Khatib, are believed to reside in Belgium. However, the Belgian Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration called for the revocation of Khatib’s refugee status in April 2024.
Khatib told De Standaard on Saturday, “This is not only an attack against us but against the freedom of expression of everyone in Belgium. These ministers seem to serve the Israeli interest rather than that of their own people.”
In a separate statement, Samidoun said, “We will go to the Constitutional Court, we will take to the streets, we will protest, we will appeal to civil society, we will fight this law because it is part of the ongoing war against the Palestinian people.”
De Wever has previously said that no criminal violations have been committed by Samidoun. However, the Belgian branch was met with significant condemnation after it staged an October 7 massacre reenactment on 7 June during its third annual “Resistance Festival” in central Brussels.
Pro-Palestinian activists dressed as Hamas terrorists with masks, keffiyehs, and army fatigues pointing prop guns, while other actors play dead bodies heaped on the floor. The reenactment, accompanied by music and a voice-over about “From the river to the sea,” was met with whoops, cheers, and applause from the audience.