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An influential Hamas supporter based in Gaza lambasted US President Trump on Telegram for his handling of the case of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian green card holder and graduate of Columbia University who headed the University's student protest movement over the war in Gaza. Khalil was detained by US immigration authorities on March 8, 2025.
Gaza-Based Hamas Supporter: "Trump Is Destroying America's Democratic Customs For Israel"
On March 11, Hamas supporter Yassin Izz Al-Din, who is based in Gaza, also criticized the Trump Administration for its handling of Khalil's case. In a Telegram post,[1] Izz Al-Din shared a video taken during a protest in support of Khalil in New York City. Izz Al-Din described the footage as showing New York City police officers "suppressing protesters demonstrating in solidarity with the Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil," adding: "Trump wants to deport [Khalil] because of his role in the student protest movement supporting Gaza."
Izz Al-Din further commented on the situation: "Trump is destroying America's democratic customs on behalf of Israel."
Izz Al-Din: Trump Will "Destroy America With His Stupidity And Arrogance"
The March 11 Telegram post echoed earlier sentiments expressed by Izz Al-Din. Two days earlier, on March 9, he accused Trump of "destroying America with his stupidity and arrogance" over the issue of student protests at Columbia University.[2]
Izz Al-Din pointed out that the action against Khalil was preceded by the Trump Administration's decision to withdraw $400 million in funding for Columbia University – a university, he noted, which has "graduated a large number of American political elites, including five of the founding fathers of the United States, three American presidents, a large number of cabinet secretaries, Supreme Court justices, and other public figures."
He added that students at Columbia University not only "sparked the student movement in America against the war on Gaza," which, he said, "terrified the Zionist lobby and American dministration headed by Biden, but they also led the protest movement against the Vietnam War in 1968.
Despite such history, Izz Al-Din claimed, "Now, Trump is trying to use the most violent methods to suppress [the student protest movement]." He concluded: "Imagine America fighting its most important university and political elites for the sake of a foreign country,' Israel. This is Trump, the reckless and foolish man who will destroy America with his stupidity and arrogance."
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