Who is Rima Hassan? French-Palestinian MEP aboard Gaza Freedom Flotilla

Dubai: Rima Hassan is a controversial French-Palestinian politician and activist, well-known for raising awareness about the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Most recently, she participated in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, a humanitarian mission that set sail from Italy on June 1.

Rima Hassan Mobarak was born on April 28, 1992, in the Neirab refugee camp for Palestinians in Syria.

At the age of nine, she moved to France with her family and settled in Niort. Growing up stateless, she finally gained French citizenship at the age of 18 in 2010, which allowed her to begin her academic journey.

She pursued law at Panthéon-Sorbonne University in Paris, where she obtained her master’s degree and focused her thesis on issues of apartheid. Following her graduation in 2016, Hassan became involved in political and legal work.

Her first role post-graduation was with the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (OFPRA). After 18 months, she moved to the National Court of Asylum Law as a rapporteur. Hassan quickly emerged as a passionate advocate for Palestinian rights.

In 2019, she founded the Refugee Camps Observatory — an NGO focused on studying and protecting refugee camps around the world.

In 2023, she joined La France Insoumise to contest the 2024 European Parliament elections.

Elected in 2024 as a Member of the European Parliament representing France’s left-wing party La France Insoumise (LFI), Hassan made history as the first French-Palestinian to hold the position.

Currently, Hassan serves as a member of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Subcommittee on Human Rights, and the Delegation for Relations with Palestine.

Nicknamed “Lady Gaza”— a label coined by a comedian on public radio who portrayed her as being singularly focused on Palestine — Hassan has become a lightning rod in French politics. A columnist in the weekly Le Point even compared her to Jean-Marie Le Pen, the far-right figure and Holocaust denier who died in early 2025.

Often seen wearing a keffiyeh, the symbolic scarf of the Palestinian liberation movement, Hassan has earned strong backing from pro-Palestinian groups. She has been one of the most vocal figures calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and is now regarded as one of the most controversial politicians in France.

On February 27, French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau announced that she would be investigated for “terrorist apologism” over her remarks about Israel. The EU parliamentarian has accused the Jewish nation of committing “genocide” in Gaza, calling it a “fascist colonial entity” and a “nameless monstrosity” that “lies every day.”

Members of France’s centrist and far-right parties even pushed for her to be stripped of her citizenship, though those calls were eventually dropped due to a lack of legal basis.

On February 24, 2025, she was denied entry into Israel while attempting to join an EU-Palestine delegation. Israeli authorities cited her support for anti-Israel boycotts as the reason.

Hassan was aboard the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, alongside 11 other passengers, including activist Greta Thunberg. The team was in international waters near Gaza’s west coast when Israeli forces intercepted the boat.

In a series of posts on X, Hassan stated that Israeli forces boarded the vessel around 2 a.m. while it was sailing in international waters.

“The crew of the Freedom Flotilla was arrested by the Israeli army in international waters around 2am. Actions are coming — stay tuned,” she wrote on X.

One photo shared by Hassan showed individuals wearing life jackets, seated with their hands raised, suggesting they were detained.

Currently, Hassan is detained in Israel alongside seven other members who refused deportation. While they await legal proceedings, the remaining four members have been deported, according to a press release by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC).

French President Emmanuel Macron has also urged Israeli authorities to release all six French nationals who were on board.

Prior to this expedition, Hassan had already been denied entry into Israel during an EU-Palestine delegation earlier in 2025.

-- Mariam Khan is a trainee journalist at Gulf News