An interview with Line Khateeb, head of the Palestine Committee in Norway
— Banafsheh Ranji
This interview is part of ongoing conversations that delve into the concept and practice of solidarity across diverse contexts and struggles. It was conducted in December 2024 by Banafsheh Ranji, a member of the Tanideh Collective, with Line Khateeb, head of the Palestine Committee in Norway.
At a time when the term “solidarity” is widely invoked—often in abstract or symbolic ways—this conversation seeks to explore what solidarity means in real, lived terms: as relationships, actions, risks, and responsibilities. What does solidarity truly mean? How is it lived, embodied, and acted upon, particularly in times of extreme violence and genocide?
In this conversation, we speak with Line Khateeb, a Norwegian-Palestinian activist whose decades of experience offer a grounded reflection on solidarity. She reflects on the emotional toll of witnessing genocide, the importance of community care in sustaining activism, the challenges of building transnational alliances across struggles, and the evolving landscape of solidarity in the digital age. From her early involvement in environmental activism to her leadership in the Palestine Committee in Norway, Line has experienced firsthand the realities of political struggle.
Throughout the interview, Line shares reflections on the trajectory of her activism, from the Second Intifada to the present genocide in Gaza, offering both historical context and emotional insight into what it means to continue organizing amid profound loss and injustice. Line discusses the limitations and possibilities of solidarity expressed through different forms—be it grassroots organizing, political advocacy, or social media engagement. She reflects on what it means to stand in solidarity—not as a symbolic gesture, but as a verb, a commitment, and a set of concrete actions: choosing to boycott, organize, educate, protest, and build meaningful connections across difference. It is also about listening, learning from one another, and recognizing how struggles for freedom—whether in Palestine, Syria, Iran, or elsewhere—are interconnected. This conversation urges us to reimagine solidarity not as an abstract political stance but as a relational and transformative force. It is found in what we choose to do, whose voices we uplift, how we remain present in the struggle, and how we resist complicity in oppression.
Banafsheh Ranji: We start with the question of you introducing yourself. Please tell us how you prefer to be identified.
Line Khateeb: I am Norwegian and Palestinian. I have a Norwegian mother and a Palestinian father. So, I identify as both Palestinian and Norwegian.
Banafsheh Ranji: Can you tell us about your journey as an activist and the fields of activism you have been involved in?
Line Khateeb: As a child, I was active in environmental and climate movements, which have remained very close to my heart. It’s about our collective future. I believe that’s also why it felt natural for me to become engaged in the question of justice for Palestine.
And when I was around 17, I started to be active. It was during the second intifada in 2000, and I saw people of my age being attacked and killed by Israeli soldiers for standing up to the occupation. That’s when I started to be organized as an activist.
Banafsheh: Have you also been involved in other areas of activism, such as feminist, queer, or other movements?
Line: I was involved during the Arab Spring, with the Syrian activists and Egyptian activists. So I have been active as a human rights activist. When it comes to queer activism, I’ve been more of a supporter than an actor, I suppose. But of course, these battles are connected. So, I definitely see the need for support across the different, intersectional narratives. But my activism has mostly been devoted to Palestine, solidarity, and refugees. I’ve been working with Norwegian organizations for asylum seekers, and I have seen how unjust our system is towards people in need of protection.
Banafsheh: Have you done all this work in Norway, or have you also been involved in other countries?
Line: Mostly inside Norway. And then, of course, there are networks of people working with the Palestinian case, solidarity networks in Europe and the Middle East that we meet. But as a Norwegian Palestinian, I think I can affect Norwegian policy. So, this is where my focus is.
“Solidarity means standing together with someone on equal terms. You support someone in their battle. It’s not about coming in and defining someone else’s battle or coming in to say that, for example, as a white person, you know better how someone else should fight.”
Banafsheh: Based on your experience, how do you understand the term solidarity? What does it mean for you?
Line: To me, solidarity means standing together with someone on equal terms. You support someone in their battle. It’s not about coming in and defining someone else’s battle or coming in to say that, for example, as a white person, you know better how someone else should fight. So, to me, solidarity is to stand together. It means that today I support you because I know that tomorrow, when I need help, you will support me. So, it’s mutual. It’s recognizing other people who are oppressed and standing with them on their terms.
Banafsheh: A lot is being said about solidarity. How do you think it can translate into concrete actions? What are some different ways to act in solidarity?
Line: Well, I think there are many ways, and we’ve seen that with the movement supporting Palestinians in their fight for freedom over the past year. There are many ways to practice solidarity. One is that we can voice each other’s concerns.
When the genocide began in Gaza, I was in touch with people who, for example, recognized the patterns of genocide in Armenia, Bosnia, and among Jewish communities. In that sense, solidarity means amplifying each other’s voices and recognizing the patterns of mass annihilation and patterns of oppression. It’s about seeing each other and challenging those in power by telling them that we recognize this as a pattern.
So, one way to show solidarity is by recognizing each other’s struggles and understanding how they are connected. And of course, other ways include taking to the streets, voicing our opposition, and telling Norwegian politicians and policymakers that we are not satisfied with what they’re doing and that we demand more. So, there is a large variety of acts of solidarity.
Across all of Norway, the Palestine Committee, which I lead, has 30 local chapters, each operating differently. In some places, people meet once a month just to have coffee and talk together. In other places, people organize lots of events and meetings. So, they organize in different ways.
But I think the main thing is coming together and standing together and seeing how we can have an influence. Now, we have people organizing based on their work. For example, we have engineers against genocide, nurses against genocide, and teachers against genocide. They organize in different groups because it’s also a way to have an impact, and people tend to listen more to those who are close to them.
And of course, the people gathering monetary support, that’s a form of solidarity too. But as a solidarity organization here in Norway, our main work is on political changes; we must change the root causes. But as an individual, I can also show solidarity by, for instance, giving what extra money I can to my friends who have families in Gaza, to help strengthen their resilience. So, there are different ways to show solidarity, depending on what one can contribute.
Banafsheh: You’ve already touched on my next question. You mentioned that solidarity includes various forms of support and participation. There are also many people involved in sharing information on social media. Have you noticed any differences in the importance of each form of solidarity throughout your activism? Do you think it’s enough for some people to be involved in collective actions, even if they pay a high price, while others only share information on social media? How do you view these differences?
Line: Social media can empower people, especially those on the ground in Palestine, or in places like Baluchistan, Sudan, or Syria, by allowing them to show the world, unfiltered, what’s going on. It gives a person sitting in Norway, the U.S., or Latin America the chance to see and hear directly from those who are facing oppression, genocide, or occupation. And that’s a good thing. However, we also see that some people only share information on social media without following up with other actions. I’m not sure how much impact it has. Social media is good for reaching out and connecting with new audiences, but at the same time, we see that algorithms tend to show people content based on their interests. In that sense, I believe being physically present—whether on the street, in a union meeting, at an informational session, or at a cultural event—has a greater impact on people. It’s often these experiences that we remember.
Also, when we want to influence decision-makers, sitting with them in person or having them meet someone from Palestine and listen to their stories has, I believe, a much stronger impact than reading a post on social media. But the combination of these is important, though. Some Palestinian groups have tried to map engagement on social media and found that one billion individual users have posted about Palestine in the last year, which is quite a significant number.
We need a combination of approaches. I don’t think social media alone will change anything, but it plays a part in educating people and showing that we are many. However, we also need to be physically present on the ground, meet people face-to-face, and have one-on-one conversations.
Another challenge with social media is censorship and shadowbanning. So Palestinian voices and pro-Palestinian voices are censored. It has been documented that both Meta and X encourage anti-Semitic and Islamophobic content to gain more traction.
Banafsheh: The genocide of the Palestinian people is not new, but we’ve witnessed extreme violence and an intensified genocide since October 2023. How do you think we should reconsider our acts of solidarity during this time of heightened violence? Do we need more radical forms of solidarity that are better suited to the situation?
Line: Well, that’s very contextual. So, we have to see where we are and what the possible changes we can make are. What this year, and the genocide in Palestine, has shown us, as the president of Colombia put it, is that Palestine is a test. It’s a test of how the political elite will react, or fail to react, and allow Israel and the colonizing forces to do what they like. That also happened to the rest of us. And I think that’s the reason why there is so strong support for the cause of Palestinians, because people see that this is also affecting them in other ways.
I think what we need to be more radical about is recognizing that this is not only about Palestine—it’s about the limits of extreme violence, as you said. Where are the boundaries for respecting international law? Are human rights only something that applies to white people, or are they a universal value?
We see that those in power prioritize staying in power, rather than giving people power, or promoting social equality, or justice. Of course, it’s frustrating to work within a system where you feel you are not being heard or your voice is not counted. And if that continues to happen, yeah, we have to be more radical, but we can also do things ourselves. The Palestinian call for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) is something that you can do on different levels. On a personal level, or within your workplace, why not ask your institution or employer to take action and refrain from buying goods from powers that are occupying others. People are talking about the radicalization of the youth. I think that’s good. But we also believe that it should be a nonviolent fight as a solidarity movement outside of Palestine while supporting the Palestinians to do their fight.
Banafsheh: Much has been said about solidarity between different marginalized and suppressed people from various contexts and geographies who have faced oppression at different times due to different reasons. Do you think it’s possible to build lasting transnational solidarity between these voices and progressive movements, or, based on your experience, is it just an abstract idea that’s difficult to achieve in practice?
For instance, we can talk about progressive movements inside Iran that want to show solidarity with the Palestinian people and their movement. However, when we consider the on-the-ground conditions in the country, we may arrive at a different outcome. Do you think it is possible to build lasting transnational solidarity?
Line: Well, I think at least we need it. And it is, as you say, a big question. The obstacle is how to do it in practice. But I think we are actually part of such a movement already. It is being built in the sense that, if we look at social movements, we can see attempts to create a global social forum. There are still places where people meet, and today we see that the Palestinian BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement is working closely with the South African solidarity movement and Latin American movements.
There are a lot of connections already. I think more and more people are becoming aware that we need to fight together for climate justice, social justice, and liberation. But for the Palestinians to run this movement now, I don’t think it’s a possibility. Given the urgent need to be responsive right now and stop the genocide and the occupation, I don’t see how this larger movement can be led by Palestinians themselves. I’m not sure. But there is a big and strong Palestinian diaspora. We see it in the US; the Palestinian or pro-Palestinian organizations in the US today have a totally different impact than they did 20 years ago.
I mean, the movement has been empowered. To make this movement larger, global, and lasting, I don’t think we’re there yet, but I believe it’s coming and building up in some way.
“There is an overwhelming popular solidarity. And then we don’t necessarily see that it is being reflected in the policies of the countries. Look at the Arab world, in Egypt, for instance, people are arrested for organizing pro-Palestinian protests. People are not allowed. They also live under some kind of occupation by their governments.”
Banafsheh: How have you so far experienced the solidarity shown by activists, from other contexts, or from those who are fighting for other causes within the Norwegian context or international context? What could be done to improve?
Line: Personally, I find it overwhelming to see the amount of solidarity. Of course, I’m exposed to it because I work on this every day, but it’s very empowering to witness so many people voicing and showing their support. It comes from youth, the youth movement, the queer movement, and the unions. And I think there is a lot of support among the Norwegian unions, but we don’t see enough of that translating into political action. Or we have a lot of people saying ‘stop the genocide’ or asking for a ceasefire, but they are not very clear on what political actions need to be taken to get there. So, this could be improved, of course. But I think there is an overwhelming popular solidarity. And then we don’t necessarily see that it is being reflected in the policies of the countries. Look at the Arab world, in Egypt, for instance, people are arrested for organizing pro-Palestinian protests. People are not allowed. They also live under some kind of occupation by their governments.
We see a lot of popular movements and people on the ground, and we have a lot of support. But we don’t see this necessarily translating into political action, because the rulers, especially in the global North, do not listen to their people, and they do not necessarily represent their people in politics, and are more concerned about their own economic needs, and their own security needs. So, there is a discrepancy between what people want, voice, and stand for, and what their governments do. This is something we see reflected both internationally and in Norway. Norway, compared to other European countries, is very good in many ways in its foreign policy. And I think this is a result of social movements here, not only in the last year, but actually for decades, and the fact that Norway was involved in the failed Oslo Accords, which didn’t bring about a Palestinian state. But it did lead to a lot of Norwegians from different institutions, research institutions, governmental bodies, cooperating with Palestinians. So, they have an awareness and a connection that today influences what we do. But in Norway as well, this depends on who is in power.
“We see both from Iranians and from Kurdish environments, for example, that people buy the Israeli narrative that Palestinians equal Hamas equals the Iranian regime. And they are not able to see that Palestinians are being used in the game of geopolitics and as proxies of the Iranian regime. But that’s a very simplistic way of reading and analyzing the political situation. I think it’s sad.”
Banafsheh: How do you find the solidarity shown by Iranians in diaspora?
Line: I know that there are some Iranians who are part of the movement, and are actively engaged. But we don’t necessarily see this as a representation of Iranians in exile per se, because there is a variation. We see both from Iranians and from Kurdish environments, for example, that people buy the Israeli narrative that Palestinians equal Hamas equals the Iranian regime. And they are not able to see that Palestinians are being used in the game of geopolitics and as proxies of the Iranian regime. But that’s a very simplistic way of reading and analyzing the political situation. I think it’s sad. It would be good if it were possible to work on the understanding of these issues because whoever supports Palestine is not automatically Palestine’s friend, or we cannot say that any enemy of Israel is a friend of Palestine.
Look at Lebanon, for example, and Hezbollah, which have been fighting with Israel for the last year. They are also taking part in the oppression of the Syrian people, and occupying Syrian land. So it’s not always so straightforward. You have to dig deeper and look at how the Iranian regime is using Palestine as an issue in their domestic policies, and maybe expressing support for Palestine as an excuse to keep on oppressing the opposition of their own population.
And this is something in the Arab world commonly used by Arab leaders. They say what they need to say about Palestine, but in action, they do something else. And we have these normalization agreements like the Abraham Accords with different Arab states that are willingly going into trade deals with Israel, buying surveillance equipment. They are more concerned about their positions and economy than the justice for people, either their own people or the Palestinian people. I think it’s important that we are able to see this, and not buy into the narrative from the US that if you support Palestine, you support, I don’t know, some kind of Islamist ideology, because it’s not at all what it is about, It’s about the colonization of land; settler colonialism.
Banafsheh: You mentioned one thing, which is to analyze the situation more deeply and avoid a superficial understanding. But what are your other expectations, both from Iranians inside the country and those outside, particularly activists and social movements, to connect more meaningfully with the Palestinian struggle? How can this lead to acts of solidarity on the ground?
Line: That’s a good question. Maybe, as a solidarity movement, we could also be better at inviting different people to us who represent other struggles, and listen to them to see how our struggles can be and are connected. So that’s number one. Also, sharing experiences is important. I think this is a meaningful way to show solidarity—learning from each other and showing interest in each other’s differences. That could be a contribution from the Iranian exile movement here in Norway—to teach us about their struggles. And I don’t know how and what the possibilities are for Iranians in Iran to differentiate their support for Palestine from support for the regime. I know that the Iranian regime sometimes uses Palestine as a topic to talk about to have popular support, even though their actions are not necessarily that supportive of Palestine. But here in Norway, I think we need to include the voices from Iran and learn from them and listen to them. So that’s also maybe a contribution from Iranians in Norway to show us how this is discussed.
“As a human being, I have been changed forever from witnessing and knowing that my country, my people, don’t seem to have the same value for Western leaders or the global North. And that’s so frightening. It has been a reason to be mad, to be angry.”
Banafsheh: In times of intensifying the genocide in Palestine, how do Palestinians in diaspora continue to fight and, maybe even, how do they manage to stay sane? Do you think that it’s even possible to stay sane in such a situation or heal from such profound trauma that they are exposed to?
Line: Well, I mean, it’s not possible to heal while it’s still going on. And I don’t think all of us are keeping our sanity. Many people are not able to go to work fully. Many people are not able to or find it difficult to be in different social gatherings. However, from my personal experience and what I’ve heard from others, being part of a community is still valuable.
So it’s good for us, and we establish places for people to meet, to be together, whether it’s for a protest, a demonstration, or other types of gatherings, like crafting, listening to someone, or simply sitting together. We need community, and we also need understanding from workmates, and colleagues that we are going through a difficult time.
I know that some people have been allowed adjustments at work, depending on whether their employer understands and recognizes their needs. But also, I think we have to recognize that a lot of people are not functioning well. They’re not doing well. It is sometimes difficult to both find the strength to keep on and to find any hope or see any meaning.
And it is tough for me, I think, as a human being, I have been changed forever from witnessing and knowing that my country, my people, don’t seem to have the same value for Western leaders or the global North. And that’s so frightening. It has been a reason to be mad, to be angry.
And we need to try to use that power to mobilize. But I think sometimes we also have to allow ourselves to just feel hopeless, and then go out again and meet people and get together and feel strong. And even though I have a day when I don’t feel good, I don’t feel I do enough, I don’t feel it helps enough, I get encouraging messages from people saying that what I do is so important. What’s most encouraging to me is when people tell me that what I do gives them the strength to do more and encourages them to voice their opinions. So we can inspire each other, and that’s important. We need to share our strength and grow that strength.
But no, we are not okay. And we shouldn’t pretend we are okay. It’s tough.
Banafsheh: I’ve noticed a lot of collective care tactics within the community, and I’ve personally found them very helpful and precious. But do you think there’s anything that could be improved, or that could have been done better in building communities, at least within Norway?
Line: For the movement, this is a continuous challenge because when people get frustrated and we see that the genocide continues and we haven’t been able to stop it, it’s natural that people start hitting each other. In this situation, we get internal frictions, or frustration, resulting in people starting to attack each other because we are not able to change what we actually all agree about.
So we try to counter this. It is impossible to cater to everyone’s needs, but at least, we are different people and organizations working together and coordinating our activities. So in different spaces there have been, for example, workshops for activists on how not to burn out, and how to deal with the situation. And there are informal supports, and people who are giving services to people in need, for example, Palestinians who give psychosocial support to others.
So, it’s possible to connect with people on a personal level who need that support. As an organization, we have also been talking to the governmental and local authorities about what services they actually give, and that they should have awareness about this when it comes to not only Palestinians, but all people who are affected by what they see. So that’s the institutional and systematic level. But we, as a movement, have to try and gather our forces. We organized an activist conference from January 2nd to January 25th. 2025, to bring together everyone working for Palestine, to discuss how we can coordinate our efforts, become stronger, and develop a shared strategy as much as possible. I think that’s important because people also get tired and frustrated. It’s natural. We go through different stages of this movement.
“It’s also easy to forget that Israel is not an almighty power. There are a lot of internal debates and a lot of internal splits in Israel. It’s a society where people now have a very different understanding of what kind of state they want to be, what values they are built on. And this is also leading to Israel being weakened. They have economically been weakened this year.”
Banafsheh: The situation may seem hopeless to many, actually, how do you envision the ongoing struggle for a free Palestine in this time of extreme violence, devastation and hopelessness?
Line: It’s certainly the darkest time I have witnessed as a Palestinian. When I look at what’s going on, not only in Gaza with the genocide and the annihilation of Gaza, but also with the climate effects, the effects on people, animals, and the land, also in the West Bank. We see that the colonization process is normalizing violent speech and actions. And that’s, of course, troubling. It’s worrying. But that also leads to huge mobilization that we see. And we shouldn’t forget that in 2024, for the first time ever, Israel and Israeli leaders have been taken to an international court. The ICC, the International Criminal Court, has now issued an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu and the former Minister of Defense of Israel, Yoav Gallan. This is unique. It has never happened before. The International Court of Justice and the UN are also working on the genocide case against Israel. The verdict will not come in one year, maybe, or in two years. And it will not alone bring justice to the Palestinians. But it does give a lot of weight and support to the fight for justice for Palestine. I think we might see another year of very devastating developments, and in January, the US president, narcissist Trump, comes to power, he can do very dangerous and also unexpected things. However, we have to look at this in the long term. And that’s what we as Palestinians have learned. It’s a generational fight. And where we have reached now, I think in another ten years or 20, we will see a difference. It’s also easy to forget that Israel is not an almighty power. There are a lot of internal debates and a lot of internal splits in Israel. It’s a society where people now have a very different understanding of what kind of state they want to be, what values they are built on. And this is also leading to Israel being weakened. They have economically been weakened this year. Investors are pulling out. Sanctions will come more and more. There are a lot of countries that have already put sanctions on Israel. We just don’t hear about it in Europe. So, in that regard, I’m positive, it also gives me hope to see the Palestinian diaspora working worldwide. There are so many clever and good people who haven’t been given a chance because we know in Palestine, the Palestinian opposition and all the hopeful young leaders are in prison. However, the diaspora has the freedom to work, and many Palestinian initiatives are operating under the radar, focusing on building for the future. So, it’s not entirely dark.
“I think supporting each other and seeing each other is an act of solidarity. But it’s not enough to just know in your heart that you support someone. You have to actually voice it or take action to show it.”
Banafsheh: As my last question, I received a message from the Palestine Committee via email a few days ago about participation in an event. In the invitation, it was written that ‘solidarity is a verb’. How is it different to look at solidarity as a verb rather than an abstract concept?
Line: Well, it’s because we want people to feel and know that they can act. They can do it on a personal level. To me, it’s a form of solidarity with Palestine not to buy Israeli goods, not to support any company supporting the Israeli economy. And that’s something I can do every day, and I can encourage others to do the same, teach more people about why they should act this way and how they can do so, encouraging them to raise it within their unions and local municipalities. There is an election in Norway next year. How we act, what we say, and what we do—using the personal power we have—are all forms of solidarity. So yes, we want people to understand that people are influential, and also that we can act in many ways. So, you interviewing Palestine, lifting this as a cause is an act of solidarity. I think supporting each other and seeing each other is an act of solidarity. But it’s not enough to just know in your heart that you support someone. You have to actually voice it or take action to show it.
Banafsheh: I’m done with my questions, but if you think there is anything left or I missed out, about, for example, solidarity between different movements at an international camp, feel free to mention.
Line: One thing to add is that, in the 1970s, the Palestinian movement was also part of the broader international anti-imperialist movement. I think we lost this understanding after the 1980s and 1990s, especially following the Oslo peace accords, which were supposed to bring a Palestinian state alongside Israel. Now we are seeing an anti-colonial, anti-imperialist movement kind of coming together again. And people see that post-colonization hasn’t happened yet. We are not there yet. Maybe this is the revival of the international solidarity we saw in the 1960s and 19770s. People have also talked about how the Vietnam War was then. Now, it’s Palestine that is uniting people. We now have a unique possibility to build on this, and I hope it’s something we will see grow.