'Masar Badil' Organization, Led By Canada-Based Former PFLP Member And Samidoun Affiliate Khaled Barakat, Hosts Interview With Nasruddin Amer, Official In The Specially Designated Global Terrorist Organization Ansar Allah – Houthis – Who Calls October 7 'A Great Victory,' Says 'Our War With Israel And The U.S Is Continuous... Our Struggle With Them Is An Existential Struggle'; You Can Support The Resistance With 'Marches And The Occupation Of Spaces In Universities, Taking To The Street Regularly'

On July 7, 2024, Masar Badil, or the Palestinian Alternative Revolutionary Path Movement, and the Yemeni National Team for Foreign Outreach livestreamed an interview with Nasruddin Amer, chair of the board of the Yemeni Saba Media Agency and vice chair of the Media Authority of the Ansar Allah (Houthis) movement. The State Department designated Ansar Allah as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist group on January 17, 2024.[1] The event was co-sponsored by Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, Alkarama Palestinian Women's Mobilization, and Al-Yudur Youth Organization.

Nasruddin Amer

Announcement of the event[2]

The interview was the seventh such event in a series of interviews and discussions with voices of Palestinian, Arab, and regional figures and featured Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network international coordinator Charlotte Kates, whom Canadian police arrested in May 2024 after she delivered a speech at a rally in Vancouver in which she expressed support for Hamas, the PFLP, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and Lebanese Hizbullah, demanding that they be removed from Canada's terror list.[3]

Charlotte Kates

Masar Badil, a pro-Palestinian, pro-Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) organization is headed by Khaled Barakat, a former PFLP official based in Vancouver who is affiliated with the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network.[4] He is married to Kates. The organization was established in October 2021, at a conference in Madrid with simultaneous meetings in Saõ Paolo and Beirut. According to the Masar Badil website and reports, its vision includes a "socialist, even 'revolutionary,' Palestine" and it is "part of the worldwide struggle against imperialism, colonialism, and racism"; many of its organizers are "activists with Samidoun," and "working groups" formed at the October included representatives from "about 200 student groups in North America working under the umbrella of the National Students for Justice in Palestine." It was heralded as "a new dawn for Palestinian resistance," as "a project of return and the end of the occupation," and organized with support and participation of Samidoun, the Alkarama Palestinian Women’s Movement, and other organizations.[5]

Barakat, who hosted the July event, noted during the event that it was an important international opportunity to learn more about Yemen's role and position. One Ali Jassar, introduced as "a member of the national team for international communication," spoke as well.

Hundreds of parties and movements around the world had earlier signed a petition initiated by Masar Badil in support of the people of Yemen against what Masar Badil called U.S.-British-Zionist imperialist aggression.

This livestream was the seventh in a series of "Palestine Media Events – English" on the organization's Odysee channel, where a recording of the livestream was uploaded.[6]  Also interviewed in the series were officials from Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, including: Husam Badran,[7] who formerly led the Hamas military wing in the northern West Bank; Palestinian Islamic Jihad member Ali Abu Shaheen;[8] Houthi Islamic scholar Dr. Ahmad Al-Shami;[9] Dr. Basem Naim,[10] who is a member of the Hamas Political Bureau; Osama Hamdan,[11] a former senior representative of Hamas in Lebanon and Tehran and former head of the group's International Relations Department; and senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad,[12] formerly chairman of the border crossings authority in the Gaza Strip and Hamas's deputy foreign minister.

Khaled Barakat

The interview with Nasruddin Amer, which was titled "Gaza And Sana'a – On The Front Lines Of Struggle, With Nasruddin Amer" and was published on the group's Odysee account on July 7 and on its website on July 8,[13] was conducted primarily in Arabic with live English and Spanish audio translation. The following is transcript of the main points of that live translation, lightly edited for clarity.

Khaled Barakat: "Our Goal... Is To Convey The Vision Of The Resistance Forces To The Widest Possible Segment Of International Friends, Revolutionary Forces, Liberation Movements"

Khaled Barakat: "We start by greeting all the audience and friends that are joining us today in the series of seminars that is organized by the Masar Badil Movement, and we welcome today's guest, Mr. Nasruddin Amer, who is the chairman of the board of the Yemeni Saba Media Agency and Vice Chair of the Media Authority of the Ansar Allah movement's media authority.

"This is the third symposium we are organizing on Yemen, and the seventh since the beginning of the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation [i.e. the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel]. And it is part of an ongoing and continuous series of media events and interviews with the resistance camp from Palestine and the Arab region. Our goal, briefly, is to convey the vision of the resistance forces to the widest possible segment of international friends, revolutionary forces, liberation movements, individual researchers, and others. The resistance today does not need more negative Western or Arab coverage, nor any hostile portrayals – but does require a supportive space to dialogue with, speak to, and hear from.

"Before we begin, we have multiple organizations that participated in organizing these events. They are organizations affiliated with the Masar Badil movement, the Alternative Revolutionary Path Movement, and participated in launching the international petition to confront the aggression against Yemen, signed by about 500 organizations, associations, and parties and approximately 1,500 individuals. The organizations are from the Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, the AlKarama Palestinian Women's Mobilization, and Al Yudur Youth Organization. And we have a member of the national team for international communication who will also say a few words. We will give each organization three minutes to introduce itself and its activity. We start with Samidoun Network and its international coordinator, Charlotte Kates."

Charlotte Kates: "Thank you very much for the introduction, and it is an honor to be here with you today. To all of the comrades of the Masar Badil, and of course to Mr. Nasruddin Amer, whose media work in presenting the Yemeni cause and the resistance to the world is one that is deeply valued by the internationalist movement as a whole. People around the world are organizing and struggling for Palestine, and there is probably no example that looms so brightly in the minds of people going out to march for Palestine as that of the people, nation, armed forces, and Ansar Allah movement of Yemen – who come out every Friday in the millions to stand with Palestine. And at the same time that Yemen is actively organizing to shut down the supply lines of genocide, is actively fighting to decolonize the Red Sea, and to take – to be the one nation, as a country, that is taking meaningful action to actually implement the Genocide Convention and stop genocide from taking place in occupied Palestine.

"The forces of resistance, stretching from Palestine to Yemen, to Lebanon, to Iraq, to Syria, to Iran, and beyond around the world are part of a camp of resistance that it is up to us to take a stand and be part of that camp of resistance. And that means mobilizing, organizing, building the boycott movement, and for us, in Samidoun, organizing for the liberation of Palestinian political prisoners. We see the thousands upon thousands of Palestinians locked behind Zionist bars, they have been subjected to extreme torture, abuse, all forms of degradation, harassment, and assault. Every single day we are hearing more stories of martyrs, and severely injured prisoners, who have been harmed and killed by the torture of the Zionist regime..."

Charlotte Kates: "These Resistance Leaders, And The Prisoners And Those Who Are Fighting, Every Day, In Gaza And Throughout Occupied Palestine For Liberation, Are Leaders Of Our International Movement"

"These resistance leaders, and the prisoners and those who are fighting, every day, in Gaza and throughout occupied Palestine for liberation, are leaders of our international movement. And as Samidoun, we are dedicated to organizing everywhere around the world for the liberation of the Palestinian political prisoners. To open up the doors of the prisons and liberate every imprisoned Palestinian held by the Zionist occupation, and for that matter, by imperialist regimes like we see with the imprisonment of George Abdullah in France or the imprisonment of the Holy Land Five in the United States, as part and parcel of the liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea.

"Samidoun Network has 20 chapters in 14 countries around the world and we would love to invite you to become a part of our organizing. I will put our URL, Samidoun.net, in the chat so you can reach out and we can organize together for the liberation of Palestinian prisoners and the liberation of Palestine.

"Before I pass it back to Khaled Barakat, I just want to say that we are always proud and honored to be a part of the Masar Badil movement, the Palestinian alternative revolutionary path movement and we are looking forward to participating in this year's conference of the Masar Badil in Madrid Spain between October 1-7, 2024. Visit the Masar Badil website, register for the conference, get involved..."

[...]

Nasruddin Amer: "There Is No Governmental Institution In Yemen That Does Not Raise The Palestinian Flag, And This Is By A Presidential Decree"

Khaled Barakat:  "Now we start with this seminar. Dear brother Nasruddin Amer will speak for 15 minutes to 30 minutes, then we will ask a number of questions so before the brother starts there are multiple greetings from multiple countries... Yemen is the only country that is abiding by international law and putting brakes on the genocide that is taking place today in Gaza...

Nasruddin Amer: "Bismillahilrahmanilraheem ["we begin in the name of Allah"]: We thank you all, and we greet you all, and thank those who have spoken and will speak, and thank warmly everyone who organizes these events, and specifically that which was organized for Yemen, and also what was organized for Palestine, for our cause, collectively. And the interest that you put on the causes that are interesting for the free people of the world and you are supporting – everyone should march forward, to show this support...

[...]

"There is no governmental institution in Yemen that does not raise the Palestinian flag, and this is by a presidential decree, that in all government institutions there will be a Palestinian flag. And there is no march or rally or demonstration throughout all of the previous years where the Palestinian flag was not present... For us, the Palestinian cause is an ideology. It is an idea, it is a conviction that is a test of humanity... This area is testing the morals and humanity of the entire world. And if you want to know how a human or moral a certain force is, then see how close or far from Palestine they are, how supportive or against Palestine it is...

"The great Al-Aqsa operation happened [on October 7]. And the brave leader of this operation called, in his speech on the morning of October 7, on the heroes of the axis of resistance, and one of them is Yemen. And it was our natural tendency to answer this call, especially after we saw the genocide and the massacres...

"Of course, we were building up our capabilities in the years leading up to October 7, and we were not surprised by the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation. We were building our capabilities anyway, on the path of being able to support Palestine. We took part in this struggle, because we are also a people who are suffering injustice and we know what it means to be left out and to be abandoned by the entire world..."

Nasruddin Amer: "The Morning Of October 7  Was A Great Victory For The Ummah, Because It Shook Off This Hopelessness"

Nasruddin Amer: "During the past time, the American media was talking about the ideological motivation of supporting Palestine. This is true. These operations are not only official operations by Yemen; it is also the masses of the Yemeni people who are taking to the street, every single week, in the millions, and saying, very clearly, that these operations are an expression of the will of the people. And it is taken by the leadership of these masses but in support of these masses and applying the will of these masses. And we also knew that there would be a backlash [against] this step, but this did not stop us because, knowing the justice of the Palestinian struggle, it is our responsibility to take part in this struggle.

"We see the morning of October 7 as a great victory for the ummah, because it shook off this hopelessness that the ummah was feeling about whether it is able to liberate Palestine or not. Now we have the deep belief that Palestine will be free, and that the resistance will be victorious...

[...]

"Our support for Gaza is steady, is expanding, is getting stronger and greater. And this is clear. And if the war there stops, if a ceasefire happens in Gaza, and afterwards comes another aggression against Gaza, then we are ready to join again in support of the resistance in Gaza.

"We are translating the will of the people of the world, and applying it on the ground. And most of the countries in the UN are saying very clearly that the aggression against Gaza must stop. We are translating this will through our operation, so we represent the will of the free people and the U.S. represents the power of evil. We represent the will of peace and the will of justice, and they represent the will of destruction, hunger, and aggression. This is what I wanted to talk about, and thank you, everyone. Salam aleikum."

Khaled Barakat: "Thank you, Nasruddin Amer, for this very valuable intervention... Today, of course, we saw the speech of the leader of the Abdel Malik Al-Houthi, saying it will be a fort against a fort, an airport against an airport, and a bank against a bank. We of course in Masar Badil salute the resolution of the Yemeni people, and the Yemeni leadership and we will give you a short break of five minutes. We have Ali Jassar who will speak very shortly on the team for international communication who also might be able to answer some questions that we see in the chat. Some of the questions like: What can we do in Europe and South America, the connection with Yemen, and of course the resistance in Yemen. Ali Jassar, you have five minutes to speak."

Ali Jassar: We Communicate "In Eight Different Languages" With "Our Activists Internationally, And We Pushed Them To Take A More Active Part In The Demonstrations And Actions That Are Against The Aggression In Gaza"

Ali Jassar: "We salute you all, every single one, and I send official greetings to our speaker, Nasruddin Amer, for the event today. First, I would like to say a few things about the national communication team. [Our team was] created after the U.S.-Saudi-UAE aggression against Yemen. It is a civil society organization that speaks to the people who are injured by this aggression internationally. We send monthly and yearly reports to our followers about the situation and we communicate with the activists and free people of the world.

"The goal of this institution is to explain the injustice that the Yemeni people are subjected to, to make clear how this injustice is done, by this unjust aggression and the blockade that Yemen is subjected to. We have a monthly report that comes out in eight different languages – one of them is Arabic – and we have a website where we publish these reports in foreign languages, and the information, we also have a YouTube [channel]. We work with all organizations, regardless of their political line, as long as they are in support of justice. This was our approach until October 7.

"After October 7, we still work with all the organizations that are against injustice but we also pay extra attention to what is happening with the Palestinian people. This also became part of our work – we speak of what happened, what is happening, in Palestine. We communicated with our activists internationally, and we pushed them to take a more active part in the demonstrations and actions that are against the aggression in Gaza. And we also publish reports about the massacres that the Palestinian people are subjected to, specifically in Gaza, but also in the West Bank, and we call on everyone, to all organizations that are with us in this event, to stand with us and to stand with the Palestinian people, both in supporting the Yemeni people and the steadfast and mujahid Palestinian people and the victorious Palestinian people, if God wills it."

Khaled Barakat: "Thank you so much for that, Brother Ali. Truly we have so many questions and comments. I will read some of them. Most of them reinforce the support for the Yemeni position, and thank the Yemeni leadership and Yemeni people for their support of the Palestinian people, and all of these organizations are internationalists, friends from Spain – there are so many friends and organizations from Europe and America that are clearly saying that they support the Yemeni and Palestinian people, and there are comments from UK citizens that are expressing how ashamed they feel at the position of their government, and they wish that the UK was not taking part in the genocide in Palestine and the aggression against the Yemeni people..."

Nasruddin Amer: "Our War With Israel And The U.S Is Continuous... Our Struggle With Them Is An Existential Struggle"; "The Influence Of The Axis Of Resistance Has Expanded In The Past Months" – Palestinians, Hizbullah, Iraqis, Iran

Khaled Barakat: "We start with a question from Nahbil Saab: If the situation comes to a ceasefire in Gaza after nine months of steadfastness by the Palestinian people in Gaza, what is the ideas and plans of the Axis of Resistance? And you are a very substantial part of this axis – will these operations in the Red Sea continue? And will there be repercussions after the ceasefire? Because, of course, they might put Yemen and Hizbullah under fire for their support of Palestine."

Nasruddin Amer: "Our war with Israel and the U.S is continuous. And this war will continue. This round, when it ends again, we stop. But that does not mean the struggle against them will stop – of course not. They will plan, and they will build their power, and so will they as well. And we will study their weaknesses and strengths, and this is something we still do. Our struggle with them is an existential struggle. There is an occupied people that must be liberated, and that struggle will continue until they are liberated...

"And the influence of the Axis of Resistance has expanded in the past months; the cooperation and communication between the axis is now much more valuable and much more feasible. The Palestinian resistance is no longer a strength that throws rocks. The Palestinian resistance has become very, very strong. Hizbullah becomes stronger, the Iraqis become stronger, we become stronger, Iran has become stronger, and the possibilities are increasing, day by day, and they cannot do anything about this."

Nasruddin Amer: You Can Support The Resistance With "Marches And The Occupation Of Spaces In Universities, Taking To The Street Regularly... Boycott Is Something That Is Very Feasible And Really Hurts The Enemy"

Khaled Barakat: "There is a question from Boura Rahim from the Maldives: We want to support the resistance. What are our options? What can we do to support the resistance, if you have any suggestions?"

Nasruddin Amer: "We do not really ask everyone to carry arms and struggle, but of course there are a few ways, and few things you can do. There are some things that exist that are not new. For example, the marches and the occupation of spaces in universities, taking to the street regularly, and developing the tactics of the struggle – sorry, I mean, the tactics of the demonstration, for example, or occupation of universities... We need popular support, and the Palestinian people need mass support. The popular resistance is an effective tool even in those countries...

"Popular resistance in terms of boycott is something that is very feasible and even in countries with very harsh environments. It really hurts the enemy, if this enemy is isolated economically, this really puts pressure on them, and our operations are to attack the economic aspects of the enemy. And we are seeing with our own eyes how important boycott actions are..."

[...]

Khaled Barakat: "Another question: 'While Yemen was attacked for many, many years, so many of the capabilities of the Yemeni armed forces were not used. Why is that?'"

Nasruddin Amer: "We deeply think that the aggression is one and the enemy is one. And the leader Abd Al-Malik [Al-Houthi] said, in the very first piece, we talked about how this aggression against Yemen is in service of Israel and the U.S. and he talked about... the tribes in Yemen. It was said in the Quran that those people – they put other people before themselves, and we would build our capabilities for Palestine, and we were putting the Palestinian people before us. And we did not even care – which shows the priority to put them before us, as a priority, and that is how we were building our capabilities for Palestine very specifically. That is why we needed and created rockets with more than 1,000 kilometers in range. We do not need this against Saudi Arabia or the UAE...

[...]

Khaled Barakat: "We might have a technical issue. He will try to come back later; he is having Internet problems. Until he comes back, we want to invite everyone again to take part in our conference – the conference of the alternative revolutionary Palestinian path movement in Madrid, Spain between October 1-7 this year. Our movement will build this conference and during the conference there will be a mass demonstration on October 6. The main goal of this demonstration is to reinforce the choice and support for the resistance to fight the tactics of genocide and extermination against the Palestinian people, and fight against all these powers that try to force the Palestinian people's choices that are outside the national will. And very specifically the option that they are trying to force the two-state solution.

"Our conference in Madrid will be marking the third year of the birth of our movement, and the entry into the fourth year, and of course there will be enough time to discuss what is happening in Yemen, and the Yemeni position very specifically and the camp and axis of resistance in the region.

"Because one of the main missions of the Masar Badil movement is to take the vision of the resistance to the world, and also the visions and projects of the liberation movements to the camp of resistance and acts of resistance. We are happy today to have our brother Ali Jassar here with us. If you would like Ali, to say something, while we are waiting for our brother, about the relationship between the liberation movements and the resistance in the region."

Ali Jassar: "I Call For Raising The Level Of Coordination Between Us All, And To Have More Mass Demonstrations All Over The World That Are In Support Of The Palestinian Struggle"; "After October 7, We Have Two Goals: The First Is To Express The Injustice Against The Yemeni People, And Also To Express The Injustice Against The Palestinian People"

Ali Jassar: "I reinforce that we, like all the Yemeni people, are calling for peace, and not calling for war. And this is what the leader Abd Al-Malik Al-Houthi has said: That we in Yemen are calling for peace, not for war. But if war is forced on us, then we are ready for it, and we are able to fight it. And this is something that must be enforced, and reiterated, and what they also want to reiterate, is: The question of cooperation between us and civil society organizations and very specifically, the Masar Badil movement, that is supporting very clearly and publicly – this event, and we believe that this movement that is only three years old, is preparing for this conference in Madrid in October, and it will include a mass demonstration in support of the Palestinian struggle, and the resistance, and Gaza, and in condemning the Israeli, American, and British aggression in Gaza.

"And I call for raising the level of coordination between us all, and to have more mass demonstrations all over the world that are in support of the Palestinian struggle, and in support of Gaza. We will also call on activists to take more action, and organize more events. And I say that we have a database that includes more than 3,000 [entries of] contact information of politicians and journalists and all of that, and they are sent [information], monthly and yearly, about all of our events. We will ask them to support all of our events, and call them to support the actions of our people. And this database also includes activists and organizers, and they are the people that we rely on to express the injustice of the Yemeni people, and also the Palestinian people. After October 7, we have two goals: The first is to express the injustice against the Yemeni people, and also to express the injustice against the Palestinian people, the steadfast people, and to demand the end to the blockades and extermination of the Palestinian people in Gaza."

Khaled Barakat: "Thank you so much, Ali Jassar. There is a sense of passion toward wanting to reach Yemen. Parties, unions, journalists – they ask us about wanting to visit Yemen, and we know that Yemen is welcoming everyone. But the blockade against Yemen, of course, makes it difficult to have this happen. My question, returning to Nasruddin Amer, so that we do not take too much of his time, is on the relationship between Yemen, Sana'a, very specifically, and the so-called government in Aden, and if you can comment on the relationship between Yemen and Iran? Specifically after the elections in Iran, and we know that you are busy and you need to go, so we do not want to take more of your time."

[...]

Nasruddin Amer: "It Is Not Only A Motto – We Have Reinforced, With Blood, That We Are With You. We Are Behind You, And We Will Not Let You Go, And This Is Our Moral Responsibility"

Nasruddin Amer: "And to those in the diaspora or inside Palestine, we say and reiterate: It is not only a motto – we have reinforced, with blood, that we are with you. We are behind you, and we will not let you go, and this is our moral responsibility, and this is what we will be asked about on the Day of Judgment. And I say, and reiterate what our leader has said: That the leader, what he threatens, he does. We will break the blockade against Yemen, and we will break the blockade against our airport, and you will all be welcome. And I hope that we all pray in Al-Aqsa [mosque in Jerusalem] and in Al-Quds, and I thank you all, to all those who organized and who are participating."

Khaled Barakat: "We thank you all, we thank the audience, and we also send our greetings to our dear people in Yemen, to the Yemeni military forces, and to the brave military forces, and our greetings to the leader who truly stands with us. We know you are going to a new state, a new era. And we are soldiers of Yemen, and whatever Yemen asks, we will do. And as you said, this is one battle and Yemen and October 7 has returned the struggle to its basics, to the true contradictions in the region. And I thank you all, we thank again brother Ali Jassar and thank all those who organized and helped us organize in this important event, on the way to Jerusalem. Thank you all, and see you later."