Israel designates 6 Palestinian human right groups as terrorist organizations

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Shawan Jabarin, director of the al-Haq human rights group, at the organization’s offices in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Saturday. Israel on Friday declared six prominent Palestinian human rights groups to be terrorist organizations.

Majdi Mohammed/AP

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Majdi Mohammed/AP

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A women walks into the al-Haq human rights group organization’s offices in Ramallah on Saturday.

Majdi Mohammed/AP

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Majdi Mohammed/AP

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The initial international reaction has ranged from frosty to sharply critical.

The United States, Israel’s closest ally, said it had not been given advance warning about the decision and would seek more information. U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said Friday that «we believe respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms, and a strong civil society are critically important to responsible and responsive governance.»

The U.N Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory said Saturday that the reasons cited by Israel’s defense minister were «vague or irrelevant,» and denounced his decision as the latest move in a «long stigmatizing campaign» against the organizations.

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The European Union delegation to the Palestinian territories acknowledged financing activities by some of the groups. It said past allegations of the misuse of EU funds by partners «have not been substantiated» but that it takes the matter seriously and is looking into it.

«EU funding to Palestinian civil society organizations is an important element of our support for the two-state solution,» it said Friday.

Israel has continually accused rights groups and the international community of singling it out while ignoring violations committed by other countries.

Both Bisan and Al-Haq accuse the Israeli government of having made previous attempts to tarnish their organizations. Shawan Jabarin, director of Al-Haq, told The Associated Press that the Israeli Foreign Ministry has previously asked foreign diplomats to lobby against his organization.

Aboudi, the head of Bisan, confirmed that he was formerly charged by Israel with being a member of the PFLP but denies ever having been a member of the group.

The other four groups targeted by Israel include prisoner rights groups Addameer, Defense for Children International-Palestine, the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees and the Union of Agricultural Work Committees. The majority of the organizations target human rights violations by Israel as well as the Palestinian Authority, both of which routinely detain Palestinian activists.

The Defense Ministry statement was published during the Israeli and Palestinian weekend. Representatives from the other targeted organizations were not immediately available for comment.