Israeli historian Ilan Pappe interrogated by FBI over alleged Hamas support

By Dilara Karatas and Ecem Sahinli Oguc

Israeli historian Professor Ilan Pappe stated that he was interrogated by the FBI for two hours at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport in the US over allegations of being a "Hamas supporter."

Pappe on Thursday wrote about his experience on his Facebook profile saying that he was questioned for two hours by two FBI agents, during which his phone was confiscated.

"The two men team were not abusive or rude, I should say, but their questions were really out of the world! am I a Hamas supporter? do I regard the Israeli actions in Gaza a genocide? what is the solution to the "conflict" (seriously this what they asked!)," Pappe said.

He added that the FBI inquired about his Arab and Muslim friends in the US and the nature of his relationships with them. The agents also spent a considerable amount of time on the phone with individuals Pappe assumed were Israeli officials.

Pappe mentioned that he was allowed to leave after all the information on his phone was copied.

"The good news is - actions like this by the US or European countries taken under pressure from the pro-Israeli lobby or Israel itself smell of sheer panic and desperation in reaction to Israel's becoming very soon a pariah state with all the implications of such a status," he added.

On March 8, Professor Ilan Pappe had remarked at the Islamic Human Rights Commission, based in the UK, that Israel's attacks on Gaza could represent "the darkest moments in Palestinian history," adding: "What is happening will be remembered as the beginning of the end of the Zionist project."