Who is Mahmoud Khalil? What’s his alleged connection with Hamas?
Mahmoud Khalil was born in Syria in a refugee camp. His family fled to Lebanon in 2012. He came to the US in 2022 and got married to Dr Noor Abdallah, a US citizen. Though he came to the US on a student visa, he became a legal permanent resident as he became the spouse of a US citizen. He was involved with Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a coalition advocating for divestment from Israel and a ceasefire in Gaza.
The Trump administration said Khalil was not only leading pro-Palestine protests but was spreading the agenda of Hamas. He distributed pro-Hamas propaganda, such as flyers with Hamas logos, and supported Hamas’s actions, including the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, the administration said.
However, Khalil and his legal team denied any direct support for Hamas, asserting that his activism focuses on Palestinian rights and not Hamas. His lawyers argued that allegations of his Hamas links are based on misrepresentations of his free speech, such as social media posts or protest activities, and no concrete proof, like material support or coordination with Hamas, has been publicly presented by the government.
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