Israel has closed the offices of the Palestinian organizations labeled as terrorist groups
Tel Aviv: The Israeli army raided the offices of Palestinian human rights organizations. The offices of the raided organizations were also closed.
The Israeli army has sealed the offices of six Palestinian organizations, which were previously labeled as terrorist groups, and posted notices. The incident happened on Thursday.
The organization’s offices in the Palestinian city of Ramallah in the central West Bank were raided and closed.
????????Breaking: This morning, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) raided Al-Haq’s office in Ramallah, confiscated items and shut down the main entrance with an iron plate leaving behind a military order declaring the organization unlawful 1/2 pic.twitter.com/Y8yqRdU4Db
— Al-Haq Al-Haq (@alhaq_org) August 18, 2022
Israel claims that these organizations are working as branches of the ‘terrorist organization’ called the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). But Palestinian organizations have denied this.
BREAKING: Israeli forces broke into our Ramallah office early this morning, confiscating client files, welding the door shut, and leaving a notice ordering the organization closed. #StandWithThe6 pic.twitter.com/QM4BBjBsLM
— Defense for Children (@DCIPalestine) August 18, 2022
Palestinian organizations responded that this is Israel’s move to suppress and silence emerging opposition voices and criticisms against human rights violations. They also alleged that this is Israel’s retaliation against their political activism.
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz approved the October 2021 decision to designate certain Palestinian organizations as terrorist groups linked to the PFLP on Wednesday night. These included the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees, the Bizan Research and Advocacy Center, and Addameer, which represents Palestinian security prisoners in Israeli military courts.
In addition, the head of the Israel Defense Forces’ Central Command rejected appeals to remove the Palestinian rights organization Al-Haqq and Defense for Children International in Palestine from the terrorist list.
At the same time, the incident has become a setback for Israel at the diplomatic level. Various international organizations have criticized the action of the Israeli army.
The local office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has responded to the incident. The response was that Israel’s arguments in the raid were not justifiable.
The US State Department also responded that it would seek an explanation from Israel in the incident. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International also released statements against the Israeli action.
Content Highlight: Israel shuts offices of Palestinian rights organizations it labeled as terror groups, causing diplomatic backlash