Palestinian Americans sue US government over secret watchlist, no-fly list

Two Palestinian Americans have filed a lawsuit against the US government accusing the Biden administration of placing one of them on a "no-fly" list and the other on a watchlist for their activism and advocacy against Israel's ongoing war on Gaza.

Mustafa Zeidan and Osama Abu Irshaid filed the lawsuit on Monday, aided by the Council on American-Islamic Relations' national office and its Los Angeles chapter.

Abu Irshaid, who had previously been on a government watchlist and was taken off in 2017, said that he only found out he was back on such a list when returning home from an international trip in June.

He was unable to print out his boarding pass at the self-service kiosk at the airport, and when he went to the service desk, a boarding pass was issued with the lettering, "SSSS" (Secondary Security Screening Selection).

He was then detained by US federal agents, who proceeded to question him about his advocacy around Palestine.

Read more: Palestinian Americans sue US government over secret watchlist, no-fly list