Israel faces backlash over terror designations
UNITED Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said that Israel’s blacklisting of six Palestinian rights organisations for their alleged ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terror group was an attack on human rights defenders, on freedoms of association, opinion and expression and on the right to public participation.
She called for the move to be immediately revoked.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said anti-terrorism legislation should not be applied to legitimate human rights and humanitarian aid activities.
“The organisations … face far-reaching consequences as a result of this arbitrary decision, as do the people who fund them and work with them,” said Bachelet.
“The crucial work they perform for thousands of Palestinians risks being halted or severely restricted,” she added.
Defence Minister Benny Gantz announced that the six Palestinian civil society groups – including highly prominent ones with significant backing and oversight from the European Union and other international bodies – were being designated as terror organisations, asserting that they worked on behalf of the PFLP, which was responsible for a string of plane hijackings in the 1970s and 1980s.
Some of the groups named by Gantz have been dogged by accusations from Israeli groups of ties to the PFLP for years.
The list consisted of: Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees; ADDAMEER – Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association; Bisan Centre for Research and Development; al-Haq Organisation; Defence for Children International – Palestine; and the Union of Agricultural Work Committees.
Bachelet said the decision would have “a chilling effect” on human rights defenders.
“Claiming rights before a UN or other international body is not an act of terrorism, advocating for the rights of women in the occupied Palestinian territory is not terrorism, and providing legal aid to detained Palestinians is not terrorism,” Bachelet said.
Israel has generally been dismissive of the UNHRC, which has obsessively targeted Israel for investigations, while generally ignoring widespread abuses in other countries.
Bachelet, in her statement, added that no evidence has been presented to support the allegations against the six groups, nor had any public process been conducted to establish the accusations.
The Defence Ministry has yet to provide concrete evidence to demonstrate a direct connection between those organisations and the PFLP in its announcement.
The move elicited a swift and fierce backlash, with Palestinians and international organisations slamming the move.
France voiced “concern” over the decision.
“France reiterates its devotion to the vital role that civil society plays in democratic life,” a spokesperson for the foreign ministry said in a statement. “We request clarifications from the Israeli authorities.”
The Biden administration, meanwhile, stood by its assertion that Israel did not notify it before announcing the controversial decision.
“It is to the best of our knowledge accurate that we did not receive a specific heads-up about any forthcoming designations,” said US State Department spokesman Ned Price, who was asked at a press briefing to respond to the Israeli claim that it had in fact notified administration officials ahead of time of the decision.
However, he said the US “looked forward to hearing more details” from an Israeli delegation expected in Washington.
It was Price’s assertion that “the Israeli government did not give us advance warning” that set off a firestorm in Jerusalem.
In a briefing to reporters, a senior Israeli official said that a Foreign Ministry official travelled to Washington and notified the US State Department’s Bureau of Counterterrorism of the impending decision and handed it relevant intelligence ahead of Gantz’s announcement.
However, the official claimed that the information likely wasn’t passed on to the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, which deals with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, due to an “internal mishap” within the State Department.
The intelligence connecting the PFLP to the organisations was “ironclad”, the official insisted. He said the material included “unequivocal evidence that includes video footage, photos, payment receipts that tie the said groups to the backing of terror activity”.
According to the official, the delegation headed to the US includes an envoy from the Shin Bet security service and the Foreign Ministry and is armed with “unequivocal” information proving that the six Palestinian human rights groups had terror ties.
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