Apparently it has been a “top priority” for Keir Starmer and his government, since the moment they came to office, to return Alaa Abd el-Fattah to the United Kingdom. A man granted British citizenship only in December 2021. A man who had previously described Britons as “british dogs and monkeys”, who wrote that he “rejoice[s] when US soldiers are killed, and support[s] killing zionists even civilians”, and who declared, without equivocation, “I’m a violent person who advocated the killing of all zionists including civilians, so fuck of [sic]”. Top priority.

The Prime Minister’s enthusiasm was echoed in chorus. Yvette Cooper expressed her ‘delight’. Hamish Falconer assured the world that ‘the British government is unwavering in its commitment to supporting British nationals around the world’. The tone was gushing, unguarded, congratulatory. The political message was unmistakable.

The tone was gushing, unguarded, congratulatory. The political message was unmistakable

The mechanics of his British citizenship matter, because they expose how thin the connection really is. Alaa Abd el-Fattah was not born in Britain, raised in Britain, educated in Britain, or formed politically in Britain. He acquired British citizenship only in December 2021, while sitting in an Egyptian prison, through a registration process based on descent from his mother, Laila Soueif, who was born in London and retained British nationality.

That passport was granted with his views already unmistakable. Alaa Abd el-Fattah had declared in Arabic in 2012: ‘Palestine is Arab…The Jews have a right to stay once they are tried for their crimes,’ framing Jewish presence as conditional on collective punishment. Responding that same year to a post about Hitler, he wrote: ‘The Jews were also Hitler’s people, and he killed many of his people by the way.’ Elsewhere he removed any doubt about intent, describing himself plainly as ‘a violent person who advocated the killing of all zionists........

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