A controversial Palestinian activist who was invited to give a lecture at Radboud University in Nijmegen next week has been banned from entering the Netherlands.

Mohammed Khatib, who was invited to speak about Palestinian prisoners and the Israeli prison system as part of an informal course, will not be allowed to enter the country, Justice Minister David van Weel and the Minister of Immigration Marjolein Faber in a press release.

Van Weel said earlier this week that he was exploring the possibility of a ban.

Khatib”legitimatecondones and glorifies violence against the State of Israel, including violence perpetrated by organizations on the European Union’s terrorism list,” Van Weel and Faber said in a statement. “He also actively expresses his support for terrorists organizations. These statements may have a radicalize effect.”

Ministers said that while freedom of expression is a “great good” which can lead to disagreement, it must take place within the framework of the “democratic values ​​on which we have agreed”.

Germany has already banned Samidoun for “anti-Semitic statements” and “open support for the terrorist organization Hamas”. The Belgian government is also trying to revoke Khatib’s refugee status on the grounds that he may constitute a danger to society. He has benefited from refugee status in Belgium since 2010.

Radboud University, which earlier said it had no problem with the invitation, said it would wait for official confirmation of Khatib’s ban before commenting.

Meanwhile, the two lecturers who invited him to speak during their “Situating Palestine” course described how Khatib was “portrayed” as a “preacher of hate” to be Islamophobic and anti-Palestinian racism.

Samidoun plans to take legal action against this project. “This will not hold up in court because no criminal act was committed,” said board member Thomas Hofland. told the AD.

Earlier this week a certain number of The students and workers of Radboud had called the university not to give Khatib a platform, saying his presence has nothing to do with academic freedom.

According to the university information platform VoxWebKhatib was invited by pro-Palestinian protesters to give a lecture at the protest tent camp last spring, and the event took place.