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.
