The U.S. has designated a stateless Palestinian refugee based in Germany as a “terrorist,” alongside three European-linked left-wing groups.
On Wednesday, the Office of Foreign Assets Control placed 30-year-old Zaid Abdulnasser on the list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons as one of two alleged “leaders or officials” of Masar Badil. The designation falls under Executive Order 13224, issued by President George W. Bush after 9/11.
In its statement on Palestine Action, Masar Badil, and Autistici Inventati, the Treasury Department described Masar Badil as a “front organization” for the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, which Washington sanctioned in October 2024. Samidoun, the department says, is controlled by the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which the U.S. has designated a “terrorist organization” since 1997.
In an exclusive interview, Abdulnasser, who has a six-month-old child, told Drop Site he was shocked when friends sent him the press release announcing the designation. “I was frightened. The authorities did not contact me beforehand; they just put me on the list,” he said.
Although the sanctions are not legally binding in Germany, they could have serious consequences for Abdulnasser. Financial institutions that work with Abdulnasser risk retaliatory secondary sanctions from the U.S., and can potentially cut off his access to his bank accounts. Because global payment networks rely heavily on U.S. banks and transactions in dollars, Abdulnasser warned that the measures threaten to “completely paralyze” him.
Abdulnasser does not see the designation as an assault on him as an individual. “On this list are Palestine Action, [International Criminal Court] judges, and Palestinian resistance factions. My listing is part of a broader attempt to crush the Palestinian liberation struggle and protect the Israeli occupation from prosecution.”
Abdulnasser has previously been a target of German authorities. A Palestinian refugee born in Syria, he has lived in Berlin since 2017.
In October 2023, amid the escalating war in Gaza, the German-Israeli Society called for a ban on Samidoun, which, as an advocacy group, organized global demonstrations and campaigns in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners. Abdulnasser served as one of the coordinators of the Samidoun in Germany, and migration authorities had already begun examining whether to revoke his refugee status over alleged “extremist activities.”
In a contested move, then-Interior Minister Nancy Faeser banned the German branch in November 2023, arguing it expressed support for the Hamas attacks on October 7th. Court proceedings challenging the ban, originally scheduled for 2025, have not yet concluded.
Masar Badil was launched in 2021. According to its website, one of its goals is strengthening the role of the Palestinian diaspora in the “national liberation movement.” The group’s activities in the past included cohosting conferences, events, and rallies. Abdulnasser declined to comment on the question of his involvement in the group.
The U.S. Treasury Department claims in its press release that Masar Badil is “inextricably linked with Samidoun and described by one of its senior leaders as part of the same political project.” The organizations allegedly “share fundraising mechanisms as well as senior leaders and members of their respective Executive Committees,” the press release says.
Abdulnasser’s lawyer, Alexander Gorski, told Drop Site that they are exploring legal options to challenge the U.S. sanctions. Gorski believes that information was exchanged between German and U.S. authorities. “Mr. Abdulnasser has not committed a criminal offense. And nobody is accusing him of that. This is about legal political activity, mainly for Palestinian prisoners,” he said.
The U.S. designation comes amid escalating action from the White House against pro-Palestinian and anti-fascist activists. In the press release, the Treasury Department references the 2026 U.S. Counterterrorism Strategy, which identifies “violent left-wing extremists” as a top national security threat. “Far-left extremists, their fronts, and their enablers should be on notice: We will bring the full weight of our economic tools to bear,” Secretary Scott Bessent said.
“This is clearly linked to the U.S. government’s crackdown on the left,” Gorski said.
Abdulnasser has an upcoming court date during which a decision is expected on whether to revoke his refugee status in Germany, a step that could ultimately pave the way for his deportation.
The US supports Israel's genocide the killing of well over 20,000 Palestinian children seems OK.
Palestinians wanting to be free of Israeli genocide are called terrorists. Israelis that steal Palestinan
land are call settlers not terrorists.
Is it only capitalism that makes everyone just accept this way of manage the lives of people by sanctioning them based on what they think? Why do other countries accept this and follow the "marching orders"? DO we need to hope that the dollar fully collapses to fix one side of all those injustices?
I am really asking, I have yet to hear a real explanation other than "it is what it is" which is not an explanation at all
There must be a way where enough countries rebel and decide to adopt other currencies to avoid the dollar, create institutions to deal with this currency. Why can't this happen?
Facts Only
* Zaid Abdulnasser was placed on the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list by the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
* The designation included Abdulnasser as one of two alleged “leaders or officials” of Masar Badil.
* The designation falls under Executive Order 13224.
* The Treasury Department described Masar Badil as a “front organization” for the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network.
* Samidoun is claimed to be controlled by the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, designated as a “terrorist organization” by the U.S. since 1997.
* Abdulnasser was shocked by the press release announcing the designation and reported no prior contact from authorities.
* Sanctions are not legally binding in Germany but carry risks for Abdulnasser through potential retaliatory secondary sanctions against financial institutions dealing with him.
* Abdulnasser stated his listing is part of an attempt to crush the Palestinian liberation struggle and protect the Israeli occupation.
* Abdulnasser previously served as a coordinator of Samidoun in Germany.
* German authorities began examining revocation of refugee status over alleged “extremist activities.”
* Masar Badil was launched in 2021, with one goal being strengthening the role of the Palestinian diaspora in the “national liberation movement.”
Executive Summary
Full Take
The situation reveals a complex interplay between international sanctions, political activism, and individual risk management. The mechanism described—using financial tools to target individuals linked to opposition movements—highlights how geopolitical conflicts are translated into economic leverage against specific actors. The assertion that the U.S. government is using "economic tools" against perceived "left-wing extremists" suggests a strategy where global financial systems become instruments of political enforcement, irrespective of domestic legal frameworks in host nations like Germany. The apparent divergence between Abdulnasser’s framing—viewing the designation as an assault on the broader liberation struggle—and the state actors' framing—classifying associated groups and individuals as terrorists or extremists—demonstrates a profound conflict in defining legitimate political participation and security threats.
The structure of this dynamic forces a confrontation between abstract political goals (liberation, anti-occupation) and concrete legal/financial realities (sanctions, asset freezes). The narrative challenges the assumption that economic systems can be divorced from political reality; instead, they are deeply implicated in shaping which forms of resistance are tolerated or penalized. The reluctance to explore alternative financial structures suggests a powerful inertia within global governance regarding the dominance of the dollar, raising questions about the true operational limits of international policy tools when faced with irreconcilable ideological divides.
What forces are at play when economic coercion targets individuals based on their association with transnational political movements rather than direct criminal activity? Why do established multilateral structures default to applying externally imposed sanctions rather than fostering alternative governance mechanisms that respect diverse political realities? How can the narrative of liberation coexist with the reality of targeted financial exclusion?