On Friday 22 October, the Israeli government announced that it was designating six Palestinian civil society organisations working to defend human rights as «terrorist» organisations, including direct partners of Belgian NGOs. We, the Belgian organisations signing this statement, strongly condemn this criminalisation of Palestinian human rights organisations and reaffirm our support and solidarity with Palestinian civil society organisations. We call on Belgium and the European Union to demand that Israel immediately revoke this measure.
On Friday, Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz issued a military order designating six Palestinian organisations as ’terrorist organisations«: Addameer, Al Haq, Defence for Children International – Palestine, Union of Agricultural Work Committees, Bisan Centre for Research and Development, and Union of Palestinian Women Committees. All of these organisations are recognised defenders of Palestinian rights with whom we, the Belgian civil society organisations signing this statement, work regularly and in whom we have complete confidence.
Evidence« extremely vague or irrelevant »
Most of these organisations have already been targeted by smear campaigns led by the Israeli government (see the report « Occupation and Shrinking Space », January 2020), but Friday's measure is a further and very worrying step. It is an unprecedented escalation in the years-long smear campaign to criminalise criticism of Israel's human rights violations. Israel does not just want to reduce the 'civic space» of local civil society organisations, it wants to destroy them entirely.
The UN is scathing about the Israeli «evidence», referring to allegations that are «extremely vague or irrelevant». The EU, for its part, states that similar accusations in the past have proven to be «unfounded». The UN rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders and the UN rapporteur on freedom of association have also strongly criticised Israel's actions.
When asked about concrete evidence against the six Palestinian NGOs, the Israeli government responded that it was secret and classified.
Serious consequences
The designation of «terrorist» allows the Israeli government to take a series of repressive measures (closure of offices, seizure of assets and arrest of their staff and affiliates) that can not only jeopardise the work of these organisations but also the safety of their employees and members. Furthermore, any financial and political support for these organisations may be considered by the Israeli government as support for terrorism. This may therefore have consequences for their partnership with Belgian and European organisations, as well as for development cooperation in the Palestinian territory in general.
Since the events of last May in Palestine and Israel, Israeli repression of Palestinian human rights organisations has intensified. We have already condemned the arrest of Shatha Odeh., director of the Health Work Committee and chair of the Palestinian Network of Non-Governmental Organisations (PNGO), detained by Israel since 7 July.
At a time when the reality of Israel's apartheid regime against the Palestinian people is increasingly widely recognised and exposed, and at a time when the Palestinian Authority is undergoing an unprecedented shift towards authoritarianism, the role of Palestinian civil society as the last bastion against the violation of Palestinians' human rights is essential.
The international human rights community has unanimously condemned Israel's action. As the Israeli human rights organisation B'tselem points out, equating human rights organisations with terrorism is «an act characteristic of totalitarian regimes». One would expect better from the self-proclaimed «only democracy in the Middle East».
Need for European action
In a joint statement, human rights organisations Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International rightly noted that «the international community's response will be a true test of its determination to protect human rights defenders». The Belgian civil society organisations signing this statement support the call from Palestinian civil society, expressed in a joint statement of the Palestinian Human Rights Organisations Council (PHROC) and the Palestinian Network of NGOs (PNGO). They strongly condemn the measure taken by the Israeli government and call on the Belgian government and the European Union to:
- To demand that the Israeli government immediately revoke the designation of these six organisations as ’terrorist organisations«; ;
- To demand that the Israeli government cease criminalising and defaming Palestinian civil society organisations;
- To immediately take all necessary measures to actively monitor and defend the safety of workers in the organisations concerned;
- To continue to provide political and financial support for the essential work carried out by Palestinian civil society organisations.
Signatories
11.11.11, Actions in the Mediterranean, Belgian-Palestinian Association, Broederlijk Delen, Centrale Générale-FGTB, Centrale nationale des Employés, CNCD-11.11.11, De-Colonizer, Defence for Children International – Belgium, Een Andere Joodse Stem, Mouvement Ouvrier Chrétien, Palestina Solidariteit, Pax Christi Vlaanderen, SolSoc, Union des Progressistes Juifs de Belgique, Viva Salud, Vrede vzw
