Who is Rima Hassan? French-Palestinian MP accompanying Greta Thunberg on Gaza-bound ship intercepted by Israel, was born in this Muslim country...

Israel stopped a boat called Madleen that was heading to Gaza with humanitarian aid. The boat was part of the “Freedom Flotilla” and left the Sicilian port of Catania on June 1, aiming to deliver supplies to people in the blockaded Palestinian territory. Among those on board was Rima Hassan, a French-Palestinian member of the European Parliament.

Rima Hassan was born in Aleppo, Syria, and moved to France at the age of nine. She and her family settled in the town of Niort, where she grew up and later became a French citizen. Hassan studied law at the University of Montpellier and then pursued a master’s degree in international law at the Panthéon-Sorbonne University.

In 2016, she began working at the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (OFPRA) and later served at the National Court of Asylum Law. In 2019, she founded the “Refugee Camps Observatory,” an NGO that studies and supports refugee camps around the world.

Hassan entered politics with the left-wing party La France Insoumise and was elected to the European Parliament on June 9, 2024. She now serves on the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Subcommittee on Human Rights, and the Delegation for Relations with Palestine.

She is known for her strong advocacy for refugee rights. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she raised concerns about health risks in refugee camps. Since the Gaza war began, she has been outspoken against Israeli military actions and has called for a peaceful solution to the conflict. In a recent interview with Le Monde, Hassan said the best solution would be a democratic state that includes both Israelis and Palestinians.

Earlier this year, on February 24, Israeli authorities denied her entry as part of a European Union delegation visiting Palestine, citing her support for boycotts against Israel.

The recent interception of Madleen by Israeli forces is being viewed as part of the ongoing restrictions around Gaza, which has been under blockade since 2007. Human rights groups have long criticised the blockade for worsening the humanitarian crisis in the region.