UMVA has learned that a complex web of organizations linked to Hamas played a crucial role in organizing the Global Sumud Flotilla to Gaza, which was intercepted by the Israeli Navy on May 19, 2026.
The flotilla's organizers and donors included numerous groups with direct ties to Hamas, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated armed networks. This revelation raises serious concerns about the involvement of terrorist organizations in humanitarian efforts.
UMVA can exclusively reveal that four key organizations were instrumental in planning and executing the flotilla: the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA), Samidoun, Harakat Sawad Misr (HASM), and the Hamas International Relations Bureau. These groups have been designated by the U.S. Treasury for their ties to terrorism.
The PCPA, established in 2017, functions as Hamas's representative body abroad, operating as de facto overseas embassies. The U.S. Treasury revealed that Hamas provided $100,000 to fund the inaugural PCPA meeting and controls the organization's strategic and tactical activity.
Zaher Birawi, a senior PCPA official, was designated by the U.S. Treasury as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist for being owned, directed by, or acting on behalf of Hamas. Birawi, a Palestinian-British journalist and activist, has been involved with the Muslim Brotherhood and was identified by Israel as a Hamas operative in 2013.
In September 2025, Israel released Hamas documents recovered in Gaza that proved Hamas's direct involvement in funding and organizing the flotilla through the PCPA and Birawi. One document referred to Birawi as the head of the PCPA's Hamas sector in Britain.
Samidoun, co-founded in 2011 by American Charlotte Kates and her husband, Palestinian-Canadian Khaled Barakat, presents itself as a Palestinian prisoner solidarity network but functions as a front for the PFLP in countries where the group is designated a terrorist organization.
The organization has been designated a terrorist entity by several countries, including Israel, Germany, the United States, and Canada. Samidoun's Europe coordinator, Mohammed Khatib, was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury for his leadership role in the flotilla.
Harakat Sawad Misr (HASM), a militant group linked to the banned Muslim Brotherhood, was formed in Egypt in 2015 with the goal of overthrowing the Egyptian government. HASM was designated a Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity in January 2018 and elevated to a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the State Department in January 2021.
The Hamas International Relations Bureau, Hamas's external arm, is responsible for overseas political influence, fundraising, and front-group operations. Mousa Abu Marzook, the head of the Bureau, has overseen Hamas operations from Northern Virginia, where U.S. officials said up to 15 percent of Hamas's $70 million annual budget originated in the United States.
The U.S. Treasury stated that Hamas's use of civilian organizations is "insidious" and "endangers Palestinians and undermines efforts to build a lasting and prosperous peace." The Treasury's actions expose how Hamas exploits diaspora organizations, religious institutions, and purported civil society groups to advance its malign agenda.
