LONDON: Exiled Egyptian TV presenter Moataz Matar has become the first foreign national to have their visa revoked by the UK’s Home Office for allegedly supporting Hamas, The Telegraph reported on Saturday.
Matar has been placed on a watch list and his visa has been revoked for comments in support of the militants — which the UK considers a “terrorist” group — and taking part in pro-Palestine protests in London.
The former TV sports presenter, who has 4.2 million YouTube subscribers, interviewed Abdelhakim Hanini recently, a co-founder of the Al-Qassam Brigades in the West Bank in the 1990s.
Hanini said that those who supported the “neo-Nazi Zionist enemy” should be made to feel there is “no safety for them.”
He added that all Muslims were obliged to “take to the streets” in support of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, which he called “a heroic act that our Muslim and Arab world has never seen before, and the enemy has never seen before since the Holocaust of Hitler.”
Matar, who fled Egypt in 2013, regularly visits the UK but is currently out of the country. He will not be allowed back in by the UK’s Border Force, The Telegraph reported.
The expulsion comes as part of the UK government’s efforts to crack down on foreign nationals for alleged “antisemitic” behavior in the wake of the attack on Oct. 7, a move spearheaded by Home Secretary Suella Braverman and Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick.
Israel’s airstrikes and violence in retaliation have killed more than 11,000 people in Gaza, mostly civilians and many of them children.
According to The Telegraph, Matar is one of at least half a dozen foreign nationals whose visas may be revoked by the Home Office.
Jenrick said: “There can be zero tolerance for visitors to the UK who abuse the privilege of a visa and endorse evil terrorist acts.
“To any individuals considering following suit in the coming days and weeks, be in no doubt that we will continue to revoke visas wherever required. We will not tolerate extremism on our streets.”
