Majed al-Zeer

Majed al-Zeer
Born (1962-12-08) December 8, 1962
Harmala
Alma materKuwait University
Occupations
  • activist
  • fundraiser
Children5

Majed al-Zeer (born December 8, 1962)[1][2] is a Jordanian-British[3] activist and former director of the Palestinian Return Centre. According to the German Federal Ministry of the Interior and the United States Treasury, he is the senior representative in Germany for Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the European Union and the United States.[4][5]

Early life

al-Zeer was born in the village of Harmala, a member of the Ta'amreh Bedouins. He attended schools in Kuwait, and graduated from Kuwait University with a civil engineering degree in 1986. Whilst at university, he was president of the Islamic Association of Palestinian Students. He moved to the United Kingdom in 1992, and earned a master’s degree in refugee studies at the University of East London in 2002.[1][2]

Charity work

al-Zeer helped found the Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) in 1996. The organization put on events that hosted Labour politicians including Jeremy Corbyn, Andy Slaughter, Ian Murray, and Baroness Tonge.[2] Israel declared the PRC an illegal affiliate of Hamas in 2010, enacting sanctions, and then sanctioned al-Zeer in 2013.[6][7] Over the years, he has been linked to groups believed by Israel to be fronts for Hamas in Europe, including the Council for European Palestinian Relations (CEPR).[8] Under his leadership, PRC and CEPR fully financed a trip for Corbyn and Slaughter to Lebanon, where they met with officials from Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.[9][2]

Political activism

He met with then-leader of Hamas, Khaled Mashal, and Iranian interior minister, Ali Akbar Mohtashamipour, who helped found Hezbollah, at a 2008 conference in Damascus.[2] He was denied entry into Jordan for a conference in 2013 without explanation, despite being a citizen and owning a house in Russeifa.[10][11] He moved from London to Berlin in 2014, and lives in Neukölln.[4] He won a settlement against World-Check for $13,000 plus legal fees, after the background check database company flagged him as linked to terrorism. The designation led to the closure of several bank accounts for him and his organization between 2009 and 2015.[7]

He met with Ismail Haniyeh in 2015, who was led Hamas in the Gaza Strip at the time. Hamas also congratulated al-Zeer that year for helping the PRC become a consultant for the United Nations Economic and Social Council. He blamed the United Kingdom for "crimes committed against the Palestinian people" at a conference in 2021, and later gave a speech in Berlin saying that Israel would fall in only a matter of time.[2] He attended a Palestinian conference in Malmö, Sweden in May 2023, which was boycotted by the Palestine Liberation Organization, which accused the organizers of being linked to terrorism and seeking to divide the Palestinian people.[12][13] al-Zeer met Swedish politician Jamal El-Haj, and conference chairman Amin Abu Rashid, who was arrested by Dutch police shortly thereafter for allegedly raising millions of euros for Hamas.[12]

He posted on Facebook that the October 7 attacks were Palestinian self-defense. German police searched for evidence at his residence on November 23 during raids that targeted Hamas affiliates.[4] The German Interior Ministry and United States Treasury both state that he is responsible for broad European Hamas fundraising and activity, and is close to the organization's leadership.[4][5] Weapons were found underground during these raids, which were alleged to be used in planned attacks against Jewish institutions in Europe.[12] British Labour MP Christian Wakeford accused al-Zeer of being a Hamas operative in November 2023.[2] According to the United States Treasury, he was part of a delegation to the Middle East with Adel Doughman and Mohammad Hannoun for Hamas. The trio were sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control on October 7, 2024 in a crackdown on Hamas fundraising ability.[5] al-Zeer rejected the accusations and stated the action was to discourage his work for Palestinian rights, and was pursuing legal action to contest the restrictions.[3] The Henry Jackson Society and UK Lawyers for Israel pushed in 2025 for the United Kingdom to join the United States and sanction him.[14]

Arrest warrant

Germany issued an arrest warrant for al-Zeer in May 2025, and contacted Swedish police, believing him to have fled to Sweden.[12] However, according to a report in the Jerusalem Post, he may actually be in Turkey per tweets indicating he was at a conference there hosted by Sami Al-Arian, a scholar who was deported from the United States in 2015 after pleading guilty in 2006 to helping raise money for Palestinian Islamic Jihad.[8][15]

Personal life

al-Zeer is married with four sons and one daughter.[1][2]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Curriculum Vitae". Retrieved 2025-08-13.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Moody, Oliver; Hamilton, Fiona (December 22, 2023). "The British activist accused of being a key Hamas ally". The Times. Retrieved 2025-08-11.
  3. ^ a b "Prominent Palestinian activist slams US sanctions as 'madness'". al Jazeera. 11 October 2024. Retrieved 2025-08-11.
  4. ^ a b c d Buchsteiner, Rasmus (2023-12-15). "Arrests Suggest Terrorist Organization Is Operating in Europe". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 2025-08-11.
  5. ^ a b c "Treasury Targets Significant International Hamas Fundraising Network". United States Treasury. October 7, 2024. Retrieved 2025-08-11.
  6. ^ "European Hamas Affiliate Deemed Illegal by Minister of Defense". Israel Defense Forces. 27 December 2010. Archived from the original on 2011-03-28. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  7. ^ a b Thomas-Johnson, Amandla (22 January 2019). "Leading Palestinian activist wins payout after terror blacklist". al Jazeera. Retrieved 2025-08-11.
  8. ^ a b Merlin, Ohad (May 22, 2025). "German officials issue arrest warrant against Hamas official in Europe". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  9. ^ Yorke, Harry (September 22, 2018). "Labour leader and the trip to Tunisia that simply will not go away". The Daily Telegraph. p. 4.
  10. ^ al Saleh, Mohammad (9 November 2013). "Palestinian activist prevented from entering Jordan". Ammon News. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  11. ^ al-Ayasrah, Omar (November 11, 2013). "ماجد الزير...من يملك حق منعه". Jordan 24 (in Arabic). Retrieved 2025-08-13.
  12. ^ a b c d Forsberg, Emil; Aprea, Matilda (2025-05-18). "Uppgifter: Hamaskopplad man jagas – kan befinna sig i Sverige". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  13. ^ Fares, Mohammad (29 June 2023). "Palestinian Bickering Spills Over to Sweden". Daraj Media. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  14. ^ Sawer, Patrick (18 January 2025). "Calls to sanction UK company director linked by US to Hamas". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  15. ^ "Sami Al-Arian Pleads Guilty To Conspiracy To Provide Services To Palestinian Islamic Jihad" (Press release). United States Department of Justice. April 17, 2006. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
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