Ref: 103/2022

Date: 18 August 2022

Time: 11:00 GMT

On Thursday dawn, 18 August 2022, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) raided and closed 7 Palestinian Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Ramallah and confiscated some of their contents.  The decision came few hours after Israeli Defense Minister, Benny Gantz, conclusively announced 3 CSOs-“Bisan Center for Research and Development, the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees (UPWC), and Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association” as “terrorist organizations”, for allegedly funding the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The decision was made after an appeal was submitted by these organizations against a previous decision issued last October labeling 6 CSOs as terrorist organizations and then rejected.

According to investigations conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), today at dawn, large number of IOF moved into Ramallah and Al-Bireh, where they raided 7 Palestinian developments and human rights CSOs and confiscated some of their contents. Afterwards, they were shut with locks and iron bars and left an Israeli military order issued by the commander stating, “For area’s security and to counter terrorism infrastructure, in all its parts, vehicles, organizations and bodies, as well as thwarting terrorism operations, I am ordering to close this place…”. As a result, none of these organizations’ staff members was able to see what was destroyed or confiscated in their offices due to their closure. These organizations were as follows: the Bisan Center for Research and Development, the Union of Palestinian Women Committees (UPWC), Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, Al-Haq, the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees, and the Union of Health Work Committees (UHWC).

PCHR condemns in the strongest terms the Israeli occupation authorities’ blatant infringement on leading and well-established Palestinian development and human rights organizations under weak excuses and false allegations. PCHR stresses that the Israeli authorities’ misconduct is part of a systematic policy to eradicate the Palestinian civil society and end its role in supporting the Palestinian people’s resilience under the occupation.

PCHR hereby emphasizes that the assault on the CSOs constitutes a flagrant violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Israeli occupation authorities’ obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which guarantees the right to freedom of association in Article 22.

PCHR underscores that the Israeli occupation authorities adopt a systematic policy to restrict the Palestinian CSOs; this policy has started since the 2001 Durban Conference against Racism in South Africa and escalated after the State of Palestine acceded to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 2015.  These restrictions included the persecution of human rights activists, restricting their travel and movement and raiding and shutting down leading human rights and service organizations.

PCHR stresses that the Israeli authorities’ persecution and designation of the Palestinian CSOs as “terrorist groups” as well as their smear campaign to defame, delegitimize and incite against these organizations aim at shutting them down and drying up their external donor funding.  Therefore, there would be only one narrative that hides the truth about IOF crimes committed in the oPt.

PCHR underlines that such practices are part of an old/new campaign against the CSOs and human rights organizations because of the latter’s leading role in exposing IOF’s violations and international work at the international level, particularly at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

PCHR indicates that these practices come at a time IOF’s violations against Palestinian civilians are to the utmost and because the Palestinian CSOs exposed the conspiracy of silence towards these violations and revealed the Israeli crimes and unprecedented callous campaign against the Palestinian people during the past 20 years.  For more than 6 months, those violations escalated and included growth of settlement expansion, seizure of Palestinians’ lands, construction of settlement roads and the annexation wall, Judaization, ethnic cleansing and assaults on holy sites in Jerusalem.

PCHR affirms that CSOs are the last resort to protect the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and to defend civilian victims from the Israeli violations. These organizations will never be and refuse to be a good victim of the occupation. CSOs are fully aware of their role and duty and will not surrender or get caught up in defending their existence, because they exist for a noble, legal, national, and humanitarian mission, which is to defend the Palestinians’ dignity, rights, and rule of law.

It is worth noting that the Israeli authorities’ decision to classify 6 CSOs as terrorist organizations was broadly and internationally condemned, specifically by the United Nations bodies, Special Rapporteurs, and the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Also, 10 European Union (EU) Member States rejected the Israeli decision, considering it was based on unfounded accusations and affirmed in a joint statement that they will continue to work with these organization, and that having a free and strong civil society is indispensable to promote the democratic values.

PCHR underlines the Palestinian Authority’s role in protecting the civil society and its organizations especially since these organizations legally operate in the West Bank and their offices are located in the Palestinian Authority-controlled areas.

PCHR also calls on the EU and the High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Convention to take immediate action in order to compel Israel to annul the decision to close the CSOs and to stop all violations against them.