On 19 October 2021, Israel designated six Palestinian human rights organizations—Addameer, Al-Haq, Bisan Center for Research and Development, Defense for Children International-Palestine, the Union of Agricultural Work Committees, and the Union of Palestinian Women's Committees—as terrorist organizations.[1] After the ban, an Israeli official told American media that arrests of the organizations' leadership was not being pursued, the goal was to cut off funding for the targeted groups.[2] Although the ban was justified on the basis that the organizations had links to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, no evidence for such links has been made public by Israel.[3]
The ban was widely criticised by human rights organisations. Multiple European states rebuffed the idea the NGOs were 'terrorist organizations' while the CIA determined that the accusations were unsupported by evidence.[4][5] Some European countries said they would continue to fund the organisations from the list, while one such organisation has had their funding cut by the Netherlands.
Despite the severity of the declaration, which was reportedly based on intelligence gathered by the Shin Bet, Israel has failed to present any documents directly or indirectly linking the six organizations to the PFLP or to any violent activity. [...] According to human rights attorney Michael Sfard, who is representing Al-Haq in its legal battle against the designation, the dossier was sent in order to persuade the Europeans to stop funding the organizations, yet 'after this step failed, since the Europeans didn't buy the allegations, [the Israeli authorities] used unconventional warfare: declaring the organizations terrorist groups.'
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