Hamas Calls on Pop Star Justin Bieber To Cancel Concert in Israel

Hamas called on heart-throb pop star Justin Bieber to cancel a concert scheduled for Tel Aviv in October 2022. “The Artistic Production Department of Hamas” calls on Bieber to cancel the concert and “boycott the Zionist occupation state in protest of its repeated crimes against our Palestinian people.” The women-led grassroots organization Code Pink called on Bieber to cancel the concert, saying that Bieber would “send a strong message that Palestinians, like all people, deserve equal rights and freedom.” It will be Bieber’s third appearance in Israel, where he also performed in 2011 and 2017; It is the only Middle East stop on Bieber’s itinerary. Meanwhile, British Home Secretary Priti Patel announced on Friday that she would designate all of Hamas as a terror group and make support for the group punishable by up to ten years in prison. For the last two decades, the UK has only recognized the Hamas military wing as a terrorist organization. The announcement on Friday will extend that designation to the political wing. “Hamas has significant terrorist capability, including access to extensive and sophisticated weaponry, as well as terrorist training facilities,” Patel said.