United Nation’s Special Rapporteur’s Francesca Albanese and Mary Lawlor condemn Israel’s attacks on Palestinian civil society organizations.

In a blatant attempt at intimidation, Israel is claiming that providing legal representation to Palestinian civil society organizations violates anti-terrorism laws.

Nine European Union states announced their support for the Palestinian civil society organizations that were arbitrarily deemed “terrorist institutions” by the Israeli government last year. The EU states rejected the Israeli designation, citing lack of proof.

The European Commission has restored funding to the Palestinian human rights groups Al-Haq despite an Israeli attack on it and five other Palestinian human rights and civil society organizations as having supposed terrorist links. “They can do anything they want. They can confiscate [our laptops and files]; they can close the office; they can arrest people; they can arrest me and criminalize me,” Shawan Jabarin of Al-Haq says. “We will not give up. I assure you we will not give up, and we will not step back.”

Surely a surprise to Israeli PM Bennett — the American Bar Association sent him a letter challenging the country’s designation of six Palestinian human rights groups as terrorist organizations. “We request that you review the concerns some in the international community have expressed questioning whether the procedures utilized [in making this designation] inappropriately deprive persons or organizations of their rights,” the ABA president wrote. His letter also calls attention to Israel’s biased court system. The ABA has thus added another respected voice to the growing criticism of Israel’s apartheid laws, policies and practices and, by extension, to the silence of the U.S. State Department on this matter. 

The Israeli spyware firm NSO Group was blacklisted by Biden administration because foreign governments were using its products to surveil academics, journalists and human rights activists. A top Israeli defense official has said that Israel encouraged the exports because they served the national interest. At a closed conference the official said, “We should have defended NSO rather than caving to the Americans.” –From the media watch by JVP’s Health Advisory Council.

Sahar Francis, the General Director of the Ramallah-based group Addameer, warns that the Israeli government’s efforts to undermine Palestinian civil society organizations may just be beginning.

The Dutch Government lately deferred to the Israeli government in deciding to defund the Union of Agricultural Work Committees, a leading Palestinian civil society group, because its failure to screen its staff and board on the grounds of their political opinion and affiliation is considered “undesirable” and displays a “lack of candour” by the organisation. That is the sole basis put forward by the Dutch government to terminate funding which started in 2007.

More than 100 global foundations and donors, most of them U.S.-based, have signed on to an open letter expressing solidarity with Palestinian civil society after six leading human rights organizations were designated as so-called “terrorist organizations” by the Israeli military: “”As global funders of human rights and democracy, this attempt to ‘chill’ our funding and solidarity will not work. We stand with Palestinian civil society organizations and human rights defenders.”

In Israel’s latest attack on Palestinian civil society organizations, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz announced a list of six Palestinian human rights organizations which he claimed have links to militant “terror” groups. On the list were prominent institutions like Addameer, Al-Haq, and Defense for Children International – Palestine.