Charlotte Kates, the international coordinator of Samidoun — a US- and Canada-designated terrorist entity linked to the PFLP — openly advocated for the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers, calling it the “most effective” method for securing the release of Palestinian prisoners.
In an interview livestreamed on April 9, 2026, Kates praised the tactic of capturing Israeli soldiers for prisoner exchanges, referencing past actions by terrorist groups. She cited a call by Hamas’s Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades spokesman Abu Ubaida urging Hezbollah to intensify efforts to abduct Israeli soldiers.
Kates further argued that supporters should back what she described as “Palestinian resistance” through actions including boycotts against Israel and holding the US and other Western nations accountable.
Kates has previously been investigated by Canadian authorities for hate speech following a 2024 speech in Vancouver in which she glorified the October 7 attacks. After Samidoun was officially designated as a terrorist entity in Canada in early 2025, she reportedly relocated to Beirut, Lebanon. Her husband, Khaled Barakat, has been identified by US authorities as a senior PFLP figure.