Iman Abid, spokesperson for the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, says Trump’s crackdown on activists, including Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil, will not silence the movement, Al Jazeera reports.

“We knew at one point or another he would try to repress any and all movements that would challenge his positions, whether it be foreign or domestic policy. And what he’s doing right now is setting an example of the Palestinian movement,” Abid told Al Jazeera from Washington, DC.

“They came after Mahmoud and we know they are coming after others. But it’s not silencing the movement,” she said.

“We have watched the movement be reignited, from protests outside of the detention facilities that Mahmoud is being held in Louisiana to reignited mobilisations happening across Columbia University … The Palestinian movement has not ceded. It continues to grow and it continues to rise here.”

Protesters march against the ICE detention of Palestinian activist and Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil, during a protest near Arizona State University (ASU) in Phoenix, Arizona, US on March 15. — Reuters
Protesters march against the ICE detention of Palestinian activist and Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil, during a protest near Arizona State University (ASU) in Phoenix, Arizona, US on March 15. — Reuters

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