Last week Israel designated six Palestinian civil society groups as terrorist organizations. The move has been condemned by the United Nations, human rights groups, and activists across the world.
Israeli defense minister Benny Gantz claimed that the organizations Addameer, Al-Haq, Defense for Children International – Palestine, the Bisan Centre for Research and Development, the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees, and the Union of Agricultural Work Committees are all connected to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The organization has an armed wing that has claimed responsibility for suicide bombings.
“Counter-terrorism legislation must not be used to constrain legitimate human rights and humanitarian work,” reads a statement put out by the The United Nations Human Rights Office in the Palestinian territories. “…these designations are the latest development in a long stigmatizing campaign against these and other organizations, damaging their ability to deliver on their crucial work.”
“Israel’s expansion of the so-called ‘terrorist’ designation is racist propaganda based on unfounded accusations,” tweeted the group Palestine Legal. “It’s another escalation of Israeli efforts to isolate Palestinians organizations doing critical work to expose Israel’s constant violations of Palestinian rights.”
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), the only Palestinian member of congress, shared the Palestine Legal tweet and wrote, “The apartheid regime’s labeling of award-winning human rights groups as terrorist organizations—just because they speak truths about Israel’s violence & its human impact—is grossly antidemocratic and dangerous. The U.S. must end funding for human rights abuses. Enough.”
“This is a clear declaration of war against Palestinian civil society,” tweeted the Palestinian activist and writer Mohammed El-Kurd. “These orgs, which the public relies heavily on, provide the world with vital data and analyses that expose Israeli crimes. “Anti-terrorism legislation” is nothing but a racist tool to crush Palestinian society.”
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, who work with some of the targeted groups, put out a joint statement condemning the move:
This appalling and unjust decision is an attack by the Israeli government on the international human rights movement. For decades, Israeli authorities have systematically sought to muzzle human rights monitoring and punish those who criticize its repressive rule over Palestinians. While staff members of our organizations have faced deportation and travel bans, Palestinian human rights defenders have always borne the brunt of the repression. This decision is an alarming escalation that threatens to shut down the work of Palestine’s most prominent civil society organizations. The decades-long failure of the international community to challenge grave Israeli human rights abuses and impose meaningful consequences for them has emboldened Israeli authorities to act in this brazen manner.
How the international community responds will be a true test of its resolve to protect human rights defenders. We are proud to work with our Palestinian partners and have been doing so for decades. They represent the best of global civil society. We stand with them in challenging this outrageous decision.
Twenty-five Israeli human rights organizations have signed onto a statement criticizing the designation. “The Minister of Defense’s designation of prominent Palestinian civil society organizations, among them our colleagues in the Palestinian human rights community, as terrorist organizations, is a draconian measure that criminalizes critical human rights work,” it reads. “Documentation, advocacy, and legal aid are fundamental activities for the protection of human rights worldwide. Criminalizing such work is an act of cowardice, characteristic of repressive authoritarian regimes. Civil society and human rights defenders must be protected. We stand in solidarity with our Palestinian colleagues, and call on members of the Israeli government and the international community to oppose this decision unequivocally.”
The Biden administration has yet to criticize the move in any capacity. When asked about the announcement during a briefing on Friday, State Department spokesman Ned Price suggested that reporters talk to the Israeli government.
“That’s it?,” asked MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan on his show this weekend. “Go talk to the Israeli government? Really? Supporters of Israel often say to critics, ‘Stop singling out Israel. Stop picking on Israel. Treat Israel like any other country.’ Well, okay then. Let’s condemn them for doing this then because when our other allies, like Turkey or Saudi Arabia or Egypt, crack down on human rights groups, we condemn them for it. We criticize them. So why give Israel a pass? How is that not ‘singling out’ Israel for special treatment? Look I agree, we shouldn’t pick on Israel. We should just hold them to the same standard on human rights as we do everyone else.”
The Israeli government is expected to send representatives from Foreign Ministry and Shin Bet to Washington soon. They will allegedly provide U.S. leaders with more information about why they made the controversial decision.
We have said it before hundreds of times !!!!!.
To the criminal borderless rogue entity, anyone who tells the truth about Apartheid israel is a terrorist.
This is the nature of a state that has broken all the rules of all civilised law abiding peoples and knows it is caught in it,s own trap.No way out, so scream and yell and pretend you are the victims.Project–deny–lie–keep murdering YOUR victims and committing war crimes and crimes against Humanity.
Repeat —repeat–repeat.Maybe the world will eventually love you
Not working anymore yisrael. Nobody is buying your chutzbah.
All decent people should be appalled that Israel is trying to silence these human rights groups by labelling them “terrorists”. Why is the White House mute on this outrage? This is not democracy by any stretch of the imagination, no democratic nation will muzzle human rights activists by trying to silence them, and ban them. The guilty are always afraid, and Israel is always trying to silence journalists, activists, and the media, to the point of bombing media buildings. Israel has too much crime to hide from the rest of the world.
US tax payer money at work folks.
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“Israel’s decision to officially label these organizations as ‘terrorists’ — opening the door to more severe legal, financial, and violent retribution — is nothing less than an authoritarian move aimed at crushing Palestinians’ ability to resist their oppression. It amounts to a direct attack on all Palestinian human rights defenders, on the communities they represent, and on the local and international publics’ right to information about the reality in the occupied territories.
“As journalists who regularly rely on the professional work of these organizations, we cannot imagine having to report on developments on the ground without the access, data, and analyses these groups provide.
“This assault is only the latest in a long history of efforts to suppress Palestinians, Israelis, and internationals dedicated to exposing and challenging the rights abuses that Israel perpetrates. The targets include protesters, activists, community organizers, lawyers, and journalists — all of whom are now under greater threat due to the government’s recent escalation.
“+972 rejects the criminalization of the six Palestinian NGOs and fully intends to continue working with them. We call on the international community to intervene and protect the organizations from Israel’s attacks, along with all human rights defenders and journalists targeted by Israel.”
“The Israeli government is expected to send representatives from Foreign Ministry and Shin Bet to Washington soon. They will allegedly provide U.S. leaders with more information about why they made the controversial decision.”
And if the US government has any sense, it will conduct its own investigation into the so-called criminality of these humanitarian organizations. If it does, it will surely conclude that, once again, the Zionist masters in Israel are doing their best to game us into giving our stamp of approval to this latest attack on basic human, and civil, rights.
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+972 stands with Palestinian rights groups under attack – +972 Magazine
“+972 stands with Palestinian rights groups under attack” By Edo Konrad, October 24, 2021
“News broke on Friday, October 22 that Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz signed an order declaring six of the most prominent Palestinian NGOs in the occupied territories ‘terrorist organizations,’ claiming they are part of a network run by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
“The ‘evidence’ cited for the move — which has been roundly condemned by Palestinian, Israeli, and international human rights groups and activists — remains entirely classified. In other words, the government expects us to go off of nothing but the dubious word of the Shin Bet.
“It is still too early to know exactly what the implications of Gantz’s decision will be on these organizations. But what is clear is that we, as an independent media outlet based in Israel-Palestine that relies on the tireless work of these groups, cannot stand idly by.
“On Sunday morning, +972 published an editorial denouncing Israel’s criminalization of these groups and in support of Palestinian civil society. It is reprinted below in full. We urge our readers and supporters to draw awareness to this dangerous development, and to demand immediate international action to protect Palestinian human rights workers.
“+972 Magazine stands firmly in solidarity with the six Palestinian NGOs recently declared ‘terrorist organizations’ by the Israeli government.
“The targeted groups — Al-Haq, Addameer, Bisan Center, Defense For Children International-Palestine, the Union of Agricultural Work Committees, and the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees — are civil society leaders who are deeply committed to protecting the human rights of Palestinian communities suffering the brunt of Israel’s apartheid policies, including children, women, prisoners, farmers, and other vulnerable groups. (cont’d)